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 Known for his ability to blend personal symbolism with historical references, Boghosian’s work invites viewers to explore the complex intersections of memory, history, culture, and identity.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.

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 artist, curator, and educator. Casey holds a BA in Photography with a minor in Gender Studies from Stockton University and an MFA/MS in Photography and Art History from Pratt Institute. She currently works as the Exhibitions Coordinator at the Stockton University Art Gallery and is an adjunct Professor of Photography, Art History and Critical Theory. Casey’s current photographic work focuses on themes of loss, trauma and memory including her long-term project Loss Event. Recent curatorial projects include Indigenous Approaches, Sustainable Futures, We Are the River: Complex Narratives, Conservation & Committing to New Jersey's Waterways, Before, After: Reflections on the Armenian Genocide, Gandzaran! Notable Selections from the Armenian Museum of America, and The Road Home: Migration, Displacement & Redefining Where We Live.

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Drawing on literature, mythology, and psychology, Boghosian’s art invites viewers into a layered world where imagination and memory converge. As Dana Gordon writes in The New Criterion, “His wide searching and openness to use whatever came to hand allowed unlimited potential meanings in his work.” Fragments of Memory offers a rare look into the depth and breadth of Boghosian’s practice. The exhibition runs in parallel with Varujan Boghosian: Wood Constructions & Collage at Victoria Munroe Fine Art in New York City, on view through May 17.

Fragments of Memory Opening

Fragments of Memory: The Art and Legacy of Varujan Boghosian, features 45 poetic constructions and collages by the late Armenian-American artist celebrates Boghosian’s masterful use of found materials and his deep engagement with myth, memory, and visual poetry. A beloved teacher and mentor, Boghosian's legacy is reflected in both his art and his influence on others. The exhibition is a collaborative effort involving the artist’s daughter, Heidi Boghosian, Berta Walker Gallery, and museum leadership.