Artist to Know: Taleen Batalian - Inside Art with Michael Rose

Artist to Know: Taleen Batalian - Inside Art with Michael Rose

Taleen Batalian is a leader in the Rhode Island art community and has shown her work widely throughout the region and beyond. Her newest exhibition, Tender Cargo, opens at WaterFire Arts Center in Providence on October 13. The show promises to be one of Batalian’s most moving, and takes as its subject the topic of intergenerational trauma through Batalian’s lens as the grandchild of four grandparents who experienced the Armenian Genocide. It is a timely exhibition by one of the state’s most talented artists.

 

Batalian has often approached her work from an interdisciplinary perspective. She has created art in media ranging from encaustic, oil pastel, and acrylic, to multi-part installations. Of the benefits of her varied practice, Batalian says, “Employing a wide range of media allows me to continue to work regardless of what kind of mood or mindset I'm in on a given day. If I'm stuck on the next move for a painting, I might sit down at the sewing machine or with a small-scale drawing. Working in multiple disciplines also allows for myriad ways of expressing complicated feelings and telling complex stories.”

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Tender Cargo will utilize a variety of media with which Batalian is so facile. A poignant and personal auditory element has joined the visual pieces of the puzzle for Batalian’s newest public exhibition, bringing her father’s voice and experience into the show. She describes that element of the project, stating, “When I started working on this show in early 2022, I was really missing my dad, who died in 2021. I decided to listen to an audio recording of him that I had made about five years ago so that I could hear his voice while I worked in my studio. In it, he tells the story of his parents, who were orphaned during the Armenian Genocide. I ended up transcribing the audio and sharing it with one of my collaborators, who transformed it into the soundscape for the exhibition. I realize now that both of my parents are completely woven into every aspect of this exhibition.”

 

This remarkably personal connection between artist, subject, and execution shows off some of Batalian’s core values as a creator. Through her own family story, she seeks to open up narratives and connections that have resonance with viewers and neighbors.

 

As an artist with a sense of connectedness and deep ties to the community, it also comes as no surprise that Tender Cargo is an exhibition built on collaboration. In addition to work by Batalian, the exhibition will include contributions from sound designer Antonio Forte, choreographer and dancer Heidi Henderson, scenic designer and project consultant Keri King, and curator Michele L’Heureux.

 

Speaking of the role of collaboration in her show, Batalian says, “The first thing that comes to mind for me is the feeling of trust that exists among myself and my collaborators. I don't think it would be possible to address such a sensitive and personal subject with a collaborative approach if I didn't fully trust that each artist would reach deep within their own experience to make work.”

 

Batalian continues, “I wanted this to be an opportunity for each collaborator to pursue what they were interested in making and to find overlaps with the themes that I was exploring. The work that develops goes so much deeper than asking them to fulfill a vision that I have in my head. It's like we're all on a road together, and we don't know where it will lead. This keeps the process new, alive, and exciting until the last minute. I love that! Working this way takes a huge amount of trust, which luckily, we have!”

 

Artists are often solitary figures and Batalian’s penchant for bringing individuals together in search of common themes is remarkable. The point of Batalian’s exhibition is highly personal but also connective. Speaking of what she hopes audiences take away from her show at WaterFire, Batalian is thoughtful. She says, “The goal in designing the exhibition is to create a fully immersive experience for the viewer, one in which they can enter into a different, slower time and space and access aspects of themselves and their own experiences that aren't often given space to emerge.”

 

She concludes, “Ultimately, I want to inspire conversation, community and connection around shared experiences of profound grief and loss.”

 

Batalian’s exhibition Tender Cargo, opens on Thursday, October 13, 2022, from 6-8 pm and continues through November 20. A film screening and discussion will take place on November 10 at 6 pm, and a live closing performance will be held on Thursday, November 17 at 7 pm.

 

To learn more about Batalian, visit her website at www.taleenbatalian.com. To learn more about her exhibition and plan your visit, go to www.waterfire.org.