Speaking with Osheen Harruthoonyan about his photography process is like speaking with a child excitedly explaining a detailed fascination with dinosaurs.  Eager to educate you [...]]]> Black Garden by Osheen Harruthoonyan was reviewed in the Toronto Sun blog.  See the article below or go to the Toronto Sun Website to read the original article here.

Speaking with Osheen Harruthoonyan about his photography process is like speaking with a child excitedly explaining a detailed fascination with dinosaurs.  Eager to educate you on how he hand-processes each photo negative in the dark room. Painting, scratching and dabbing the film particles using a variety of chemical solutions and water applications, a process so unique that a film maker took interest and is working on documenting it. When asked if he is scared that someone will use this unique treatment he grinned wildly, saying that ‘no one would be crazy enough to do it’, and then noted that even if anyone did it would be their own interpretation.

We examined his favourite print,Swan, thoroughly. He told me that part of what he liked about the highly-distorted flower was the circular motion created when he used a syringe to draw in hot water from the immersed negative, ultimately displacing the film particles.  Before we finished the interview a spectator complimented the piece saying that he liked how it drew his eye from the center out, making a hand-gesture that swooped from the middle toward the top corner.  At this point, the charming and modest Harruthoonyan gave me a satisfied smile and giggled slightly at how his effect was perceived.

I caught the last leg of his show ‘Black Garden’,his 3rd featured appearance  at the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography exhibit, held at Lonsdale Gallery (410 Spadina Rd). The show consists of 10 gelatin silver prints of photos taken in Armenia and Nagoro-Karabakh, a small country near Armenia.  The display of the show ends tomorrow and will be available for viewing at the gallery after the show.

The Persia born (of Armenian descent), Richmond, B.C. native has lived in Toronto for close to a decade and is nominated as one of Ontario’s 5 emerging artists in the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, an award that will be announced on June 9^th. As an artist with skills extending beyond experimental, contemporary photography, he is looking forward to projects involving cinema, photography and large scale international exhibitions.

“Black Garden” [...]]]> Bravo! program Arts & Minds is doing a feature news story on Osheen Harruthoonyan’s solo exhibition at Lonsdale Gallery, “Black Garden”. The feature will be showing on the following dates and times: Saturday, May 21st at 6:30am and 4:00pm, Sunday, May 22nd at 7:00am and 6:00pm and Wednesday, May 25th at 8:00pm.

“Black Garden” by Osheen Harruthoonyan is a feature exhibition for the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival. The exhibition is showing on the main level of Lonsdale Gallery until June 5, 2011.

Excerpt from article:

“• Osheen Harruthoonyan, “Black Garden,” Lonsdale Gallery, May 5:
Harruthoonyan’s images are wildly manipulated but completely hand-made. Nothing digital here: Using old-school darkroom techniques, the photographer compresses foreground and background, [...]]]> Murray Whyte mentioned Osheen Harruthoonyan’s exhibition, Black Garden, among his selection of show to see during the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival.

Excerpt from article:

“• Osheen Harruthoonyan, “Black Garden,” Lonsdale Gallery, May 5:
Harruthoonyan’s images are wildly manipulated but completely hand-made. Nothing digital here: Using old-school darkroom techniques, the photographer compresses foreground and background, creating dark, provocative dreamscapes that slip more than occasional into nightmare.”

To Read Whyte’s full list, see today’s Toronto Star newspaper, or read the article here: Contact Photography Festival Returns

Osheen will be giving an artist talk at the MacDonald Stewart on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 12pm. There will also be a closing party for the exhibition on Thursday, February 17, 2011.

Please see the [...]]]> Osheen Harruthoonyan’s work in currently being featured in a solo exhibition at the MacDonald Stewart Art Centre in Guelph Ontario.

Osheen will be giving an artist talk at the MacDonald Stewart on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 12pm. There will also be a closing party for the exhibition on Thursday, February 17, 2011.

Please see the attached press release for full details on the exhibition.

Featured artists in this year’s booth were: George Boileau, Neil Dankoff, Osheen Harruthoonyan, Amanda McCavour, Julie Oakes, Jim Reid and Pedie Wolfond

The interview covered Osheen’s recent body of work, upcomming projects and a preview of the gallery at the Toronto International Art Fair.

View the full interview here.

Bravo News story on Nocturna Artificialia by Osheen Harruthoonyan. Bravo spoke to gallery artist Osheen Harruthoonyan and gallery curator, Stanzie Tooth about his off site exhibition for the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival. The exhibition presented by Lonsdale Gallery, was exhibited at the 918 Bathurst Centre Gallery from May 1-30, 2010.

The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival is an interesting experience altogether, taking photography to a whole new and captivating level. The open exhibitions, lectures and Live Spatial Projections have made staring at images so much more thrilling.

Taking the Organik, Alembic, Abstrakts by Blaine Speigel, for instance, a presentation [...]]]> to read the original post visit:
Miss Sly!

The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival is an interesting experience altogether, taking photography to a whole new and captivating level. The open exhibitions, lectures and Live Spatial Projections have made staring at images so much more thrilling.

Taking the Organik, Alembic, Abstrakts by Blaine Speigel, for instance, a presentation set in a Live Spatial Projection at 918 Bathurst Venue - a centre supporting Culture, Arts, Media and Education.

I arrived for the opening at 7PM to be welcomed by colourful images in a magical, almost surreal environment. More pictures after the jump.

The exhibition was set in a large cathedral like room, thrust in complete obscurity, with the only light coming from multiple projections of film-based images made through a variety of photographic and alchemical processes, which Speigel later explained during our conversation. A DJ playing live ambient sounds, added to the surreal and magical experience as beautiful and colourful images succeeded each other.

One fashion mind couldn’t help but think about a potential collaboration between the photographer and a Fashion designer, to create fabulous prints, using Speigel’s stunning chemically altered images, for an avant-garde take on the current gardenia trend.

Speigel then introduced me to fellow photographer Osheen Harruthoonyan, who was opening his Nocturna Artificialia exhibition of sumptuous photographic prints in a separate room. Osheen’s work presented a meditation on mortality, employing a diverse vocabulary of imagery. Quite impressive for a self-taught who combines traditional large-format photography with a variety of analog photo manipulation techniques.

The countless hours spent in the darkroom clearly paid off. Sepia, gold selenium toned gelatin silver prints reigned supreme. Powerful yet minimalist, modern with something nostalgic, ideal for a chic and modern interior decoration. Admirers strolling through the gallery clearly pleased, congratulated Osheen.

What a sensory satisfaction this photography moment was, from the avant-garde Speigel to the classic Osheen, it was something worth experimenting. A stop at LONSDALE GALLERY for more on their work is highly recommended.

Osheen Harruthoonyan’s Nocturna Artificialia pays homage to the creative process. Each atmospheric print was created by spending up to 8 hours with a 4” x 5” exposed negative, treating them with an array of tools including paintbrushes, make-up remover pads, q-tips and dental [...]]]> to see the original article:
Indie Blogs – Meaghan Bent

Osheen Harruthoonyan’s Nocturna Artificialia pays homage to the creative process. Each atmospheric print was created by spending up to 8 hours with a 4” x 5” exposed negative, treating them with an array of tools including paintbrushes, make-up remover pads, q-tips and dental tools. The intimacy of his fingerprints can be found in the chemical spray and scratched surfaces of the darkly lit images. Harruthoonian describes his work as “science and art” and compares his methods to early artists who used different pigments and emulsion to achieve their colour palette. By painting to the photographic medium, he creates a world of detail and curiosity within every print.

Inspired by Dutch still life paintings, the subjects of the exhibit are flowers and pomegranates distorted by a post-mortem environment. The black and white photography is printed on gelatin silver and creates a canvas of contrasting textures that give Harruthoonyan a scientific playground to work with. Excitedly describing his alchemist bent, he explains the process of toning the prints with sepia, gold and selenium to alter the natural metallic make-up of the gelatin and emphasize each light range.

Harruthoonyan is represented by Lonsdale Gallery and Nocturna Artificialia is showing until May 30th at 918 Bathurst: Culture, Arts, Media & Education Centre.

More about Osheen: http://osheen.ca/