Exhibit, March 2022
The following are my thoughts and impressions as I reflect on my solo retrospective art exhibit which I hosted on March 12th, 2022 virtually and in-person.
There were several reasons I wanted to curate this art exhibit and make it happen this year since it was my 50th birthday as well as the year I finished my cancer treatment. I visualized it with all the details about a year ago in a meditation session with my art and business mentor, Annamieka Hobbs Davidson @annamieka_.
I think more than anything I subconsciously needed it to gain clarity on where I’ve been and where I want to go next. I rediscovered oil painting last year, thanks to Annamieka. However, I had not quite figured out how that’s going to fit into my life. For a while now, I had been contemplating the idea of slowly ending my commercial art business of the products and dedicating my energies to a fine art business and the new project I will be announcing in a few weeks. Because of this exhibit, I decided to continue the product business while incorporating time to oil paint simply for the love of it as I have done for the past few decades. I realized almost all my paintings are very personal in subject matter, making them not commercial but that is what drives me to create them. The product business will give me the financial means to create freely without the pressure of selling paintings.
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MG_4996-1200x800.jpg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
One of the highlights of the exhibit was having my friends (who I’ve known for most of my life) say to me they never knew this side of me. Same with my family members. They had not seen many of the pieces I shared. I’m very happy that I brought them out of the closet and introduced them. Every single piece of creation inspires some thing and someone. My cousin Armig shared with me that as she was watching the retrospective show, she was remembering where these pieces were displayed in my family home and the times I showed her when I had finished a piece. She said she relived her childhood through this display.
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/c40674d7df674ee6e58646270a780281af6217d2-1-1200x800.jpeg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
The emotions I was feeling before and the day of the exhibit were of relief. It was the completion of something that had been sitting on my heart for a while and I had been working very hard to bring to fruition. I knew I did everything I could do in the amount of time I had set myself to do it in. That morning I was wishing for one more week to prepare but don’t we say that about everything?
The main overall feeling was excitement and vulnerability. I was about to show everyone all the sides of me. The number one question constantly playing in my mind was why would anyone care about my story? That came up a lot for me, especially when I was doing my marketing. But I realized after the exhibit and after everyone’s comments that people do care and it’s not specifically about me as a person but about someone who has the courage to create, share and be vulnerable enough to say this is me. It’s those steps that inspire and keep the chain of artistic creation going in our world. I think a lot about what if no artist shared what they made? What if there were no museums? What if there was no social media or art exhibits or the radio? What would our life look like without art? So I feel I’m doing my part and that this is God’s calling for me.
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/zoom-screenshot-1280x800.png)
Sharing a funny story with Annamieka and my Virtual Exhibit viewers
Having completed this one big accomplishment, I know I have a craving to create more. I showed you my first 50 years, now I have another 50 years to share.
![](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MG_4891-1200x800.jpg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MG_5024-1200x800.jpg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
One of the highlights was when my brother said to me, “I had no idea you had created all this. You gave us an insight to yourself that even we did not know.”
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_5040-533x800.jpg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
![](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_3524.jpg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/isle-1-668x800.jpeg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
If I could go back and offer advice to the younger Arpi I would tell her “don’t give up”. There was a time period where I did give up, for 10 years actually. I think about all the art I would’ve created in those 10 years. I was so worried about making money and making a living, (which is valid) that I put my art away completely. My advice would be to never put down your sketchbook. It’s your way in.
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-07-at-9.25.48-PM-656x800.png)
Younger Arpi, a Self-Portrait.
![Arpi Krikorian art exhibit. March 2022](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_5115-1200x800.jpg)
Photo Cred. @photo_jake
Lastly, the greatest highlight for me was the impression this exhibit left on my daughters. They both told me how proud they were of me and shared my story with their friends. They have both told me that they know they can do anything they set their minds to do because they’ve watched me do just that. That in itself is priceless.
![The Krikorian Family. From Left to Right: Sosse, Joe, Arpi, and Sevan.](https://www.arpikrikorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/img_5089-2-1200x800.jpg)
The Krikorian Family. From Left to Right: Sosse, Joe, Arpi, and Sevan.