BOSTON, Mass. (A.W.)—The closing ceremony of Boston-based artist Ara Azad’s exhibit, titled “Arrival/Arrival,” took place at @artlery160—a new high-tech art space in Boston’s financial district—on June 7. The exhibit, which opened in April, featured Azad’s work from his “Mailed Painting” series.
The closing ceremony of Boston-based artist Ara Azad’s exhibit, titled “Arrival/Arrival,” took place at @artlery160 on June 7. (Photo: Rupen Janbazian)
During the closing ceremony, Azad held a special art performance, during which he physically deconstructed one of his art pieces and handed pieces of it to each member of the audience. The pieces were then photographed one-by-one in the hands of their new owners, which will be digitally reconstructed and put back together.
Over a period of 21 years, Azad has mailed more than 140 paintings, mainly from the Boston area, to cities around the world as a part of his “Mailed Painting” series. Azad first paints a portrait, then paints a recipient’s address on the painting itself, applies postage directly on the painting, and puts it in the mail unpackaged, uninsured, and unsecured—except by trust. Only one painting he has mailed has not arrived in perfect condition—unfortunately lost to “mail fraud.”
The exhibit, which opened in April, featured Azad’s work from his “Mailed Painting” series. (Photo: Rupen Janbazian)
Boston’s @artlery160 is designed to showcase a new business model for the art world that puts artists’ rights front and center while encouraging much broader engagement from both patrons and collectors. All art featured in @artlery160 is available through a mobile app called Artlery along with special iBeacon proximity sensors associated with each work that provide advanced analytics and context awareness.
There are more than 100 artists currently on the Artlery platform as well as trials with 6 different galleries in Boston, New York, and San Francisco.
Over a period of 21 years, Azad has mailed more than 140 paintings (Photo: Rupen Janbazian)
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Ara Azad’s ‘Arrival/Arrival’ Exhibit Concludes in Boston