Jean Boghossian I Untitled 2008

Jean Boghossian is a Belgian artist of Armenian and Lebanese origin, celebrated for his innovative use of fire and burn marks in Postwar & Contemporary art. Through his dynamic and abstract creations, Boghossian explores themes of movement, transformation, and regeneration, captivating viewers with works that evoke a visceral sense of energy and rebirth.

Born in Aleppo in 1949, Boghossian hails from a family of renowned jewelers. While studying Economics and Sociology at the University of Saint-Joseph in Beirut, he worked alongside his family in the jewelry trade. However, the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 led him to relocate to Belgium, where he eventually settled. Over three decades ago, driven by a deep passion for art, Boghossian enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Boitsfort, Brussels, all while continuing to manage the family business.

In 1992, Jean, along with his brother and father, established the Boghossian Foundation at the Villa Empain in Brussels. This foundation reflects the family’s cosmopolitan outlook and commitment to fostering intercultural dialogue between East and West, mirroring Jean’s own global identity.

For more than 30 years, Boghossian has dedicated himself to his artistic journey, describing art as a space for liberation, creativity, and refuge. “I wanted to free myself from the jewelry business to pursue a completely independent artistic approach. It gives me extraordinary energy. Standing before a large canvas is both a physical and emotional experience,” he explains.

Boghossian’s distinctive technique revolves around the deliberate use of fire, a method he employs to create harmony out of chaos. Working with flames and smoke—forces both invasive and unpredictable—he engages in a delicate dance, embracing the fire’s spontaneity while choosing the precise moment to halt its progress. This balance of destruction and creation is central to his practice, yielding works that are both raw and refined.

While artists such as Claudio Parmiggiani and Yves Klein have also incorporated fire into their work, Boghossian’s approach is uniquely his own. His process involves manipulating the canvas through folding, stapling, covering, burning, and redeploying the material before finalizing the composition. The result is a synthesis of method and unpredictability, tension and control, that underscores his innovative contributions to contemporary art.

Drawing on his experiences of historical upheavals, cultural shifts, and poetic narratives, Jean Boghossian offers a vision of art as a universal language. His work embodies a new, humanistic perspective that resonates deeply in today’s fragmented world, inviting viewers to find beauty in transformation and resilience.

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