Nosbaum Reding Gallery | Jean Boghossian
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Artist
Jean BoghossianProduction
Studio Jean BoghossianCuration
Lisa De Boeck & Alex RedingAuthor
Lisa De BoeckScenography
Alex RedingGraphic Design
Emma RaymaekersPhotography
© Antoine Grenez | Studio Boghossian
© Audrey Jonchères | Nosbaum Reding
© All artworks © the artist. Courtesy of the artist. -
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by Lisa De Boeck
Jean Boghossian’s solo exhibition, « Smoke Signals, » at Nosbaum Reding Gallery in Luxembourg, offers a captivating exploration of communication through the prism of an elementary force of nature. Specifically designed for Nosbaum Reding, this exhibition utilizes the concept of « Smoke Signals »—a form of primary but enigmatic long-distance communication—to explore themes of connection, miscommunication, and the ephemeral nature of messages in our ever-evolving era.
Historically, « Smoke Signals » have been a universal thread in the fabric of human endeavors, utilized by various cultures across the globe. They served as a form of elementary messaging, from strategic signals along the Great Wall of China to complex messages of Native American tribes across the plains, to the ancient Greeks, who used smoke to signal significant events like the fall of Troy. Each case illustrates humanity’s persistent effort to communicate and convey messages across vast distances and epochs.
« Smoke Signals » merges the historical use of smoke in art with Boghossian’s personal journey. Boghossian’s path, from Aleppo, traversing the aftermath of the Armenian genocide, to Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, and his ultimate settlement in Belgium, mirrors the historical use of « Smoke Signals »—overcoming obstacles, seeking connection, and the continuous search for a means to express complex stories of identity and survival. In « Smoke Signals, » this personal history and the broader human experience converge, using the evolution of « Smoke Signals » as a metaphor for the development of human communication.
The exhibition places Boghossian’s work within an expanded historical art framework, highlighting the symbolic, aesthetic, and conceptual dimensions that smoke has embodied in artistic practices across different eras and cultures. From Wolfgang Paalen’s innovative use of smoke to the unique imprints created by Yves Klein, it demonstrates how Boghossian’s work aligns with this legacy, enriching the history of smoke as an artistic medium.
This exhibition explores the evolution of abstraction in Boghossian’s creations, a more lyrical evolution and a deconstruction by fire or pigment. Boghossian’s body of work also engages in dialogue with artistic movements that have influenced modern art, paying tribute to the contributions of Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and the gestural techniques of Art Informel. The influences of these currents manifest in the smoky contours and spontaneous eruptions of color and form that define Boghossian’s works.
Boghossian’s nuanced approach to repetition marks a central aspect of the exhibition. While it may appear to deviate from the concept of repetition, the works presented testify to a sophisticated exploration of the theme. Here, repetition transforms into a platform for variation, where recurring forms and motifs are explored with subtle differences, each variation enriching a broader discourse on the dynamics of change and continuity in art and communication.
Boghossian’s exploration of smoke and its transformation reflects not only the past but also our present, highlighting the complexities of communication in a world where messages are increasingly subject to distortion and misinterpretation. The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on how communication shapes our understanding of each other and the world around us, how messages, like smoke, can be clear or obscured, and how their interpretation is influenced by the context in which they are received.
Thus, « Smoke Signals » at Nosbaum Reding Gallery is much more than an exhibition; it is a dialogue between history and contemporary life, between the artist’s personal narrative and the universal human quest for connection. Through the artistic prism of Jean Boghossian, we are invited to explore the subtleties of communication, the beauty of ephemeral messages, and the ongoing challenge of finding clarity amidst the complex narratives of our societies.
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7 March – 27 April 2024 | Nosbaum Reding, Luxembourg
Smoke Signals is a solo exhibition by Jean Boghossian, curated by Lisa De Boeck and Alex Reding, and presented at Nosbaum Reding Gallery in Luxembourg.
The exhibition explores communication through natural elements, taking the ancient practice of smoke signals as a central metaphor for the complexities of transmitting meaning across distance, time, and context. Historically used across cultures as a tool for warning, coordination, and survival, smoke becomes in Boghossian’s work both a material and a language.
The curatorial framework connects this shared human history of signalling with Boghossian’s personal trajectory, from his origins in Aleppo, through the Lebanese civil war, to his settlement in Belgium. These lived experiences parallel humanity’s enduring attempts to bridge separation and uncertainty through acts of communication, often fragile and open to misinterpretation.
Smoke Signals also situates Boghossian’s long-standing engagement with smoke within a broader art-historical lineage, while addressing contemporary concerns around connection, miscommunication, and the ephemerality of messages in a saturated, accelerated world. The exhibition unfolds as a dialogue between past and present, where material, memory, and signal converge, inviting reflection on how meaning is shaped, altered, or lost through transmission.
