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Peggy Hinaekian's poetry in color
http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?furl=/go/a rticle/2010-02-23-peggy-hinaekian-s-poetry-in-colo r&pg=2
Published: Tuesday February 23, 2010
Peggy Hinaekian is a graduate of the Italian Academy of Art "Leonardo
da Vinci" and has also studied History of Art at McGill University in
Montreal. Her work consists of oil and acrylic on canvas and etchings.
She began a formal career as a fashion designer for Jackie Kennedy's
wedding gown designer in New York.
Her award-winning art has been exhibited internationally and can be
found in numerous corporate and private collections as well as in
Museums all over the world. Her etchings are distributed by Christie's
Contemporary Art of London and Editions Francony of France. She works
in Switzerland and in the United States.
Editor's Note: The interview by Nancy Bockoven first appeared in
Arts+Culture, La Jolla, an e-magazine found at
http://www.artculturelajolla.com, and is re-printed here with
permission.
How would you describe your work?
I would describe my work as lyrical. It is predominantly abstract and
I have been told that it exudes an atmosphere of calm and joy. I try
to guide the viewer towards a focal point, inviting him or her to
wander within the paintings and be part of the emotions they provoke.
I think some of my work has a nebula like quality suggesting infinite
distances in atmospheric fields of color, whether small and whimsical
or large and bathed in vast expanses of one color.
When did you first consider becoming an artist?
I have always considered myself an artist as of the age of 3. My
father encouraged me in my childish drawings from as far as I can
remember. However, as I did not make a living with my art, I held
other jobs, secretarial, administrative, fashion designing, etc.
Do you have a formal art education or are you self-taught?
I did have a formal education in an Italian academy in Cairo, Egypt,
where I was born, but it was not satisfactory to me. It was too
academic. After that, when living in Montreal, I took some courses in
history of art at McGill University. I have not been taught technique
or anything else. I just learned as I went along. I am always looking
for new techniques. I just took a course at the Atheneum in La Jolla
in monoprints and I produced 60 monoprints in four days, most of which
I exhibited in Germany and in Switzerland this fall.
You've exhibited consistently since the early 1970s - what was it like
in the beginning, was it hard to get your work shown, what was your
process for getting into galleries?
In the beginning it was very hard to get my work shown. I had another
style, a cubist/surrealistic couples theme and I had a lot of
rejections. I had my first exhibition in Montreal, then went to New
York and worked as a fashion designer for Jackie Kennedy's wedding
dress creator, all the time painting on the side. Then I went to
Switzerland where I really started my career as an artist while
working part time in one of the United Nations agencies. I also took
up some courses in etching. Being able to work with print editors
helped my career in getting known all over the world. When I visit a
city I go to the galleries and look to see which one would be suitable
to show my work. Then I try to talk to the manager and show that
person my catalog. In Europe it is done differently than in the U.S.
In the U.S, I first call to find out if they are taking on new
artists, then find out about their submissions procedure. I then
submit my work and hope for the best. An artist has to persevere and
never give up hope. It has to be a continuous process. Women often
give up their careers while raising children. Luckily I was an artist
and could paint with the children running around my studio.
Along that same note, do you think artists today have to put an equal
effort into the business/ marketing side of their artistic profession?
How do you handle this aspect of your work?
I think that artists today have to put more time into the
business/marketing side of their profession. Painting is easy - it
requires two to three hours a day - but marketing is very time
consuming. Sometimes I spend days on the computer or on the telephone
trying to get gallery representation or arranging for exhibitions. It
is very frustrating.
I know that you've traveled extensively, how have different places
inspired you? Do you paint while you're traveling or do you use the
trips as a break and then return to painting when you're back home?
Egypt has inspired me with its exotic atmosphere and its climate.
Montreal did not inspire me at all. In fact in Montreal, I painted in
warm colors in a room overlooking mounds of snow. In Italy I was
inspired by the vegetation and the sea and in New Mexico by the
vibrant colors of the desert landscape. I never paint while
travelling. I don't even take a sketchbook with me. I sometimes make
notes of color themes and shapes as I see them. I like painting in my
own studio space, although once I painted in the main hall of a major
Swiss bank. They had set up a podium for me and I went there everyday
for a month.
In your artist's statement you mention you are foremost a colorist and
often work with a color key - can you tell us more about this? What
other elements or materials find their way into your work?
When I decide to do a painting, I decide on the color first. I have an
idea of where that color should go and what texture it should have.
Then I dissect this color field with another color. I use the word
dissect because often I have a line going through my painting or I
have a small patch of another color floating in the atmosphere. This
other color is very important. The two colors should complement each
other. I often use sand or collages. The color, shape and placement of
the collage are also very important. I spend quite a bit of time on
deciding that.
What is your studio or work space like?
I had three studios: The major one was in Switzerland and it was a
real studio with a gallery front (my own gallery). However, I closed
that one up as I cannot possibly have more than two workplaces. I
spend more time in the U.S. I don't call them studios now. My work
space in Fort Lauderdale is a separated part of the very large living
room and it is a corner space with very good light. My work place in
La Jolla is on the patio in the open air and part of it extends into
my bedroom. I am not a neat artist. I have pieces of interesting paper
lying around in bins and different objects I gather from the beach. I
also clip, clip clip from magazines. My husband says I am a dumpster
diver. I gather things and clippings because they give me ideas.
You've recently participated in the Albuquerque Art Museum Miniatures
show, and you have two upcoming exhibits in Germany and Switzerland -
it sounds as if you've been quite busy. Do you have any goals for the
upcoming year?
I am always very busy. People tell me to relax and retire. How can I
retire? If I retire I might as well die. Painting is my passion. One
does not retire from one's passion. I will have an exhibition in a
small lakeshore town in Switzerland in November and I am looking to
get into a gallery in California. However, galleries are not doing
well in California and they are not taking on new artists. The last
thing people think of buying is art. Luckily I did very well in Europe
this year.
At this time you divide your time between La Jolla and Europe, what
made you take up residence in La Jolla?
Since my younger son went to college in San Diego I have visited La
Jolla several times and my husband and I fell in love with the town
and the climate. It is just the size of town we like. There is
everything one needs in one town and it has a magnificent coastline. I
also like the people and their friendliness especially after having
lived in aggressive New York.
Has La Jolla inspired any artwork yet?
Yes, the patio I paint in is surrounded by trees, plants and flowers.
Although I do not paint vegetation I am energized by being surrounded
by them and also by being so close to the coast and all that blue.
www.peggyhinaekian.artspan.com, email: [email protected]
http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?furl=/go/a rticle/2010-02-23-peggy-hinaekian-s-poetry-in-colo r&pg=2
Published: Tuesday February 23, 2010
Peggy Hinaekian is a graduate of the Italian Academy of Art "Leonardo
da Vinci" and has also studied History of Art at McGill University in
Montreal. Her work consists of oil and acrylic on canvas and etchings.
She began a formal career as a fashion designer for Jackie Kennedy's
wedding gown designer in New York.
Her award-winning art has been exhibited internationally and can be
found in numerous corporate and private collections as well as in
Museums all over the world. Her etchings are distributed by Christie's
Contemporary Art of London and Editions Francony of France. She works
in Switzerland and in the United States.
Editor's Note: The interview by Nancy Bockoven first appeared in
Arts+Culture, La Jolla, an e-magazine found at
http://www.artculturelajolla.com, and is re-printed here with
permission.
How would you describe your work?
I would describe my work as lyrical. It is predominantly abstract and
I have been told that it exudes an atmosphere of calm and joy. I try
to guide the viewer towards a focal point, inviting him or her to
wander within the paintings and be part of the emotions they provoke.
I think some of my work has a nebula like quality suggesting infinite
distances in atmospheric fields of color, whether small and whimsical
or large and bathed in vast expanses of one color.
When did you first consider becoming an artist?
I have always considered myself an artist as of the age of 3. My
father encouraged me in my childish drawings from as far as I can
remember. However, as I did not make a living with my art, I held
other jobs, secretarial, administrative, fashion designing, etc.
Do you have a formal art education or are you self-taught?
I did have a formal education in an Italian academy in Cairo, Egypt,
where I was born, but it was not satisfactory to me. It was too
academic. After that, when living in Montreal, I took some courses in
history of art at McGill University. I have not been taught technique
or anything else. I just learned as I went along. I am always looking
for new techniques. I just took a course at the Atheneum in La Jolla
in monoprints and I produced 60 monoprints in four days, most of which
I exhibited in Germany and in Switzerland this fall.
You've exhibited consistently since the early 1970s - what was it like
in the beginning, was it hard to get your work shown, what was your
process for getting into galleries?
In the beginning it was very hard to get my work shown. I had another
style, a cubist/surrealistic couples theme and I had a lot of
rejections. I had my first exhibition in Montreal, then went to New
York and worked as a fashion designer for Jackie Kennedy's wedding
dress creator, all the time painting on the side. Then I went to
Switzerland where I really started my career as an artist while
working part time in one of the United Nations agencies. I also took
up some courses in etching. Being able to work with print editors
helped my career in getting known all over the world. When I visit a
city I go to the galleries and look to see which one would be suitable
to show my work. Then I try to talk to the manager and show that
person my catalog. In Europe it is done differently than in the U.S.
In the U.S, I first call to find out if they are taking on new
artists, then find out about their submissions procedure. I then
submit my work and hope for the best. An artist has to persevere and
never give up hope. It has to be a continuous process. Women often
give up their careers while raising children. Luckily I was an artist
and could paint with the children running around my studio.
Along that same note, do you think artists today have to put an equal
effort into the business/ marketing side of their artistic profession?
How do you handle this aspect of your work?
I think that artists today have to put more time into the
business/marketing side of their profession. Painting is easy - it
requires two to three hours a day - but marketing is very time
consuming. Sometimes I spend days on the computer or on the telephone
trying to get gallery representation or arranging for exhibitions. It
is very frustrating.
I know that you've traveled extensively, how have different places
inspired you? Do you paint while you're traveling or do you use the
trips as a break and then return to painting when you're back home?
Egypt has inspired me with its exotic atmosphere and its climate.
Montreal did not inspire me at all. In fact in Montreal, I painted in
warm colors in a room overlooking mounds of snow. In Italy I was
inspired by the vegetation and the sea and in New Mexico by the
vibrant colors of the desert landscape. I never paint while
travelling. I don't even take a sketchbook with me. I sometimes make
notes of color themes and shapes as I see them. I like painting in my
own studio space, although once I painted in the main hall of a major
Swiss bank. They had set up a podium for me and I went there everyday
for a month.
In your artist's statement you mention you are foremost a colorist and
often work with a color key - can you tell us more about this? What
other elements or materials find their way into your work?
When I decide to do a painting, I decide on the color first. I have an
idea of where that color should go and what texture it should have.
Then I dissect this color field with another color. I use the word
dissect because often I have a line going through my painting or I
have a small patch of another color floating in the atmosphere. This
other color is very important. The two colors should complement each
other. I often use sand or collages. The color, shape and placement of
the collage are also very important. I spend quite a bit of time on
deciding that.
What is your studio or work space like?
I had three studios: The major one was in Switzerland and it was a
real studio with a gallery front (my own gallery). However, I closed
that one up as I cannot possibly have more than two workplaces. I
spend more time in the U.S. I don't call them studios now. My work
space in Fort Lauderdale is a separated part of the very large living
room and it is a corner space with very good light. My work place in
La Jolla is on the patio in the open air and part of it extends into
my bedroom. I am not a neat artist. I have pieces of interesting paper
lying around in bins and different objects I gather from the beach. I
also clip, clip clip from magazines. My husband says I am a dumpster
diver. I gather things and clippings because they give me ideas.
You've recently participated in the Albuquerque Art Museum Miniatures
show, and you have two upcoming exhibits in Germany and Switzerland -
it sounds as if you've been quite busy. Do you have any goals for the
upcoming year?
I am always very busy. People tell me to relax and retire. How can I
retire? If I retire I might as well die. Painting is my passion. One
does not retire from one's passion. I will have an exhibition in a
small lakeshore town in Switzerland in November and I am looking to
get into a gallery in California. However, galleries are not doing
well in California and they are not taking on new artists. The last
thing people think of buying is art. Luckily I did very well in Europe
this year.
At this time you divide your time between La Jolla and Europe, what
made you take up residence in La Jolla?
Since my younger son went to college in San Diego I have visited La
Jolla several times and my husband and I fell in love with the town
and the climate. It is just the size of town we like. There is
everything one needs in one town and it has a magnificent coastline. I
also like the people and their friendliness especially after having
lived in aggressive New York.
Has La Jolla inspired any artwork yet?
Yes, the patio I paint in is surrounded by trees, plants and flowers.
Although I do not paint vegetation I am energized by being surrounded
by them and also by being so close to the coast and all that blue.
www.peggyhinaekian.artspan.com, email: [email protected]