Serj Tankian, the multi-talented artist and creator, hosted a special VIP opening reception of his latest art exhibition “The Lost Technique” on Friday, August 30. The private event was held at Tankian’s new Eye For Sound Gallery in Eagle Rock, California where friends and supporters enjoyed an early premiere of the singer’s latest artwork. Special guests included Armenian singer-songwriter Rosa Linn, Chief creative officer of DC Comics Jim Lee, and more.
Tankian, most recognized as the lead singer and lyricist for the Grammy Award-winning rock band System Of A Down has launched a new art exhibition. The private reception was held Friday evening from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Tankian’s Eye For Sound Gallery, which also holds another of his projects the Kavat Coffee Shop. The intimate shop sells premium organic Armenian coffee and signed Tankian records and merchandise. Throughout the evening Tankian greeted and conversed with every single guest who attended the private event.
A press release describes the exhibition “The Lost Technique” as a project that focusing on “a time when art was a meditative experience using gleaned items as tools to create. Where the hand was guided by the unseen to emerge from nothingness into presence. The pieces displayed are all a product of this lost technique where ordinary items that surround the canvas become the paintbrush. Where elusive form is everywhere to be found by the seeking eye.” Eye For Sound was born from the desire to create a unique immersive experience connecting groundbreaking art to its exclusive musical score.
The new exhibition includes the same feature Tankian previously incorporated in his “Shapeshift: A Dynamic Divine Into Diversity” back in 2022. Tankian embedded accompanying music to the art piece. Guests can access the music pieces via Arloopa, a free mobile application used as an augmented reality visualization tool combining the physical and digital worlds. Using the app, guests scan the artwork and are then able to load the musical score. The new exhibition also features a few pieces from Tankian’s 2022 art exhibit such as “Buy The Real Wh*re (Orange).”
As the lead singer and songwriter for System Of A Down, Tankian has released five studio albums, winning a Grammy Award in 2006 for “B.Y.O.B.” he’s performed for millions of fans and sold more than 42 million albums worldwide. Tankian is also a solo artist, composer, activist, painter, poet, and filmmaker. An Armenian born in Lebanon and raised in Los Angeles, Tankian has blended cultures and ideas in everything he creates. With Tom Morello, Tankian co-founded the non-profit organization Axis of Justice, which strived to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has composed scores for many films and television series, had his paintings exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and New Zealand, and released two books of his poetry and his latest book Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts).
Tankian will release a five-song EP titled Foundations on September 27 via Gibson Records. The EP will be released with three exclusive limited-edition colored vinyl. Foundations mines music and lyrics from previous decades and reframes them in a hard-hitting, intensely focused collection. Like all of Tankian’s work, the five songs that comprise Foundations encompass a wide range of sounds and styles. It is also very much a rock album – “music of rebellion,” as Tankian puts it. The EP includes the track “A.F. Day,” whose origin dates back nearly three decades, to his earliest days with System of a Down.
“The Lost Technique” officially opens Saturday, August 31 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Eye For Sound in Eagle Rock, CA. The exhibition is set to run until Saturday, September 28. For more information on the gallery visit here.
All photos by Conny Chavez
Leave a Comment