Fragments of Memory: The Art and Legacy of Varujan Boghosian
Fragments of Memory The Art and Legacy of Varujan Boghosian celebrates the life and artistic legacy of Varujan Boghosian (1926-2020), an American-Armenian artist celebrated for his innovative approach to mixed media, collage, and assemblage. Known for his ability to blend personal symbolism with historical references, Boghosian’s work invites viewers to explore the complex intersections of memory, history, culture, and identity.
This exhibition features a carefully curated selection of works from throughout his career, including early pieces, iconic constructions, and mixed-media creations that reveal his narrative depth, curiosity, and craftsmanship. Alongside these artworks, personal ephemera, studio collections, and poetry offer a rare, intimate glimpse into his methods and mindset.
By highlighting both his individual journey and his significant contributions to American art--particularly in the realms of collage and assemblage--Fragments of Memory seeks to deepen our understanding of Boghosian’s enduring impact on contemporary art.
Curated by Ryann Casey.
A special thanks to Alan & Isabelle Der Kazarian Foundation for the support of this upcoming exhibition.
opening saturday april 26
About the Artist
Varujan Yegan Boghosian (1926-2020) was an Armenian-American artist known for his distinctive mixed-media sculptures, collages, and constructions. Born in New Britain, Connecticut to parents who fled the Armenian Genocide, Boghosian joined the Navy during World War II. After returning home in 1946 he attended college on the GI bill. As a student at New Britain High School, he was influenced by the poet Constance Carrier, with whom he maintained a lifelong exchange of letters discussing poetry and art.
Boghosian first enrolled at Connecticut Teacher’s College (1946–1948) and then the Vesper School of Art in Boston (1948–1950). While at Vesper, he began to show his watercolors and woodcuts at local galleries and had his first solo exhibition in 1950. In 1953, he was awarded a Fulbright Grant for painting in Italy. Upon his return to the U.S., he studied under Bauhaus professor and master of color theory, Joseph Albers at the Yale School of Art and Architecture. Boghosian received his B.A. and M.F.A. from Yale in 1958. He later taught at several institutions, including the University of Florida, Cooper Union, Pratt Institute, Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth where he retired in 1995.
Since the 1950s, Boghosian spent his summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and regularly visited Rome. He is buried in the “artists’ corner” of Provincetown’s Alden Cemetery, two headstones away from his dear friend, poet laureate Stanley Kunitz.
Boghosian received awards from the American Academy in Rome, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, where he was an active member. Early in his career he showed at the legendary Stable Gallery, and he was part of a group of artists who founded Provincetown’s Long Point Gallery.
Boghosian’s work is part of many collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of America Art, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, the Cape Cod Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Armenian Museum of America.
About the curator
Ryann Casey is a New Jersey-based curator, artist, and educator. She holds a BA in Photography from Stockton University and an MFA/MS in Photography and Art History from Pratt Institute. Casey is the Exhibitions Coordinator at Stockton University Art Gallery and teaches Photography, Art History, and Critical Theory as an adjunct professor.
