“Beneath the Broken Sun”: a journey into the heart of creative darkness through the art of Alexandra Karakashian

For the first time, Alexandra Karakashian exhibits in Los Angeles, presenting a series of monochrome abstract canvases that bathe the space in a singular, immersive atmosphere. Her exhibition, entitled “Beneath the Broken Sun” and on view until November 14, highlights a rich artistic practice exploring themes of exile, loss and mourning, both on an individual and collective level.

Born in Johannesburg in 1988 and now based in Cape Town, this South African artist draws her inspiration from personal and family experience. Alexandra Karakashian is interested in contemporary issues such as exile, the status of refugees and migration. Her approach also takes the form of an ecological commitment, using unconventional materials for her works. By integrating used motor oil and salt, she subtly highlights the instability and collapse of natural resources, particularly on the African continent. Themes of grief linked to the loss of land and the fates of those left “homeless” resonate deeply in her creation, enriching a critical and moving dialogue on contemporary realities.

In “Beneath the Broken Sun”, Alexandra Karakashian reveals large-scale canvases that perfectly embody her artistic approach. Using motor oil, black pigments, charcoal, salt and oil paint on canvas and linen, the South African artist invites us to meditate on the dark realities of the world. By placing materiality and process at the heart of her practice, she transforms her works into dynamic explorations, imbued with a liveliness that defies the traditional perceptions associated with the mediums used.

Her large, dichotomous paintings take visitors on a visual journey, revealing the possibilities of movement and interaction of paintings in space. The works presented move away from representational styles and narrative justifications, embracing instead an intimately minimalist creative process. This pared-down aesthetic engages the viewer and offers a rich inner experience, oscillating between a multitude of emotions, sometimes vivid, sometimes subtle, at once soothing and somewhat vexing.

Black, an almost omnipresent color in Alexandra Karakashian‘s work, embodies a multitude of notions: death, comfort, fear, the mythical magic of darkness, resistance, mourning and restraint. The furrows left by this dark hue evoke scars and monolithic columns of such depth that they seem to absorb any source of radiance, sometimes transforming into simple black stripes. Some of the canvases in “Beneath the Broken Sun” seem to plunge into this darkness, where black paint and oil mask the support almost entirely, allowing tiny luminous flashes to emerge like glittering explosions.

Alexandra Karakashian deploys the symbolism of black with power and depth, depicting it in such a way as to accentuate the emotions conveyed by her works. Motor oil seeps into the delicate weave of the canvas, creating soft auras around each gesture. This entropic movement escapes all control; its field of expansion is subject to the whims of fate, long after the artist’s physical engagement with the work has ended.

The South African artist’s choice of materials raises profound reflections, not least on motor oil, seen as a symbol of crude oil, the use of which has serious consequences for humanity and nature. In 2015, theorist Jane Bennett explored the boundary between inert materials and human vitality, introducing the concept of “vibrating matter”, which suggests that every object possesses energetic power. This calls into question man’s arrogance in the face of consumption, blurring the distinction between self and object.

In this dynamic of abstraction and experimentation, Alexandra Karakashian’s practice reflects a rejection of traditional binaries – light and dark, empty and full, subject and object, life and death. By opening up to the unknown and indefinable, “Beneath the Broken Sun” invites us to transcend value judgments and perceive experience as a circular phenomenon, revealing a complexity rich in its materiality.