Haik Kocharian - Surfing Color

June 14, 2023 to August 13, 2023

The Robin Rice Gallery is pleased to present Surfing Color, a photographic exhibition by Haik Kocharian. The opening reception will be held on June 14, 2023 from 6pm to 8pm.   

Surfing Color  presents photographs that are abstract creations born from realism. Kocharian emphasizes the ambient color in the tradition of minimalism, observing the beauty and mystery of light, shadows, tone, and moods. The environments within the photographs are transformed into ones of symbolism, challenging the viewer to question the images. As a result, a tension is created, like an energy trapped in a frame attempting to escape.

Kocharian, who is also a filmmaker, brings a cinematic eye to his photography, as we experience images that reflect simplicity through his focus on light, color, and the documentation of ordinary life.

In “Going Home,” Los Angeles a pool-like shadow on the foreground alters the nature and surrounding of the image as light breaches from the center of the bike during sunset. “Blue Highway”, Nevada  leads the viewer into the deep blue of early dawn and draws them into a new beginning.

His influences in these photographs include artists such as Mark Rothko and photographer William Eggleston, as Kocharian uses color, texture, geometry, and shapes to tell a story that evokes contemplation and introspection.

Born in Armenia, Haik Kocharian was introduced to the world of art in his early childhood by his parents, who were theater and film actors. He began his studies at the Armenian Theater Academy and continued his education in film at Brooklyn College, where he also studied photography. Kocharian resides in New York City. 

In 2015, Kocharian released his first feature film, "Please be Normal," starring Oscar-nominated actor Sam Waterston. The film was nominated for a Critic’s Pick in the New York Times and won awards at two film festivals.

Kocharian is actively involved in charity work and, as a photographer, he has collaborated with many non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad such as Village Health Partnership in Ethiopia and Meaningful World, a UN-affiliated NGO in Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda.

He has exhibited his works within galleries in New York such as Galerie Mourlot, Robin Rice Gallery, 92 Y Tribeca, and James Cohan Gallery, as well as group exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York and the International Center for Photography. Kocharian was also a finalist in the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Competition.

This is his third solo show at the Robin Rice Gallery.