MIT The Dean's Gallery

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Apo Torosyan: Bread Series

February 4 - March 11, 1998

Curated by Michelle Fiorenza


I was born and raised the son of an Armenian father and a Greek mother in Istanbul, Turkey, the old Byzantine city of Constantinople. At an early age I started working on canvas and discovered texture. The surface of a stained and weathered wall; the bark of a tree; an old manuscript; a mosaic/ a fresco; a Hellenistic or Etruscan temple or an icon - all fascinated me.

I choose "Bread" today because it includes all three elements of my statement: texture, symbolism, and the ordinary object. I find texture in everything: in our communication, in our environment, in our time, in the past, and in our lives. It symbolizes time. I age things, for example by oxidizing metal leafs, burning surfaces, or using found objects. I make them look deformed and more used than before. They then become more expressive.

Some of the expressive forms I use are symbolic, and some are not. They are related to my time and my past. For example, soil and sand, represents peace for me. It can be shared, instead of fighting over it. It also symbolizes immigration, setting, and the beginning of a new life.

"Bread" has endless symbolism as well, beside being the ordinary and the sacred one. It is ordinary for the lucky ones which use it daily in their lives. It is an earthy phenomenon which symbolizes life. The formation is endlessly intriguing. Closely looked at, it is like traveling in a metaphor.

I like to challenge the ordinary. The one that we use, see, and don't pay any attention to at all. By restricting myself to a single form, I find the creativity of discipline. Technique becomes a companion, not a stumbling block. The form evolves with the message, and the message evolves into a larger scale.

The notion for the "Bread Series" started in 1976, and I have been developing the actual works since 1992. In the "Bread Series", I use a variety of textural elements on the canvas, including bread, either burned or not burned, which is chemically preserved into an immortal durability in a month-long process, as well as burlap, wire mesh, modeling paste, acrylic paints, and other found objects to create a textural and symbolic metaphor.

If my work remains in someone's mind, and touches someone's heart and soul, my statement is complete. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my work with you.

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