NEW YORK, NY.- Miles McEnery Gallery is presenting Bathers (Nothing Comes From Nothing), an exhibition of new paintings by Raffi Kalenderian, on view 8 May - 21 June at 511 West 22nd Street. Accompanying the exhibition is a fully illustrated digital publication featuring a text by Annie Armstrong.
Raffi Kalenderian is not an artist working in a vacuum. His practice thrives on dialogue, and over the past several years he has transformed his studio from a solitary space of production into a true artist’s salon—one that functions as a hub for community. From fashion designers and aspiring young artists to newcomers carving out futures in Los Angeles, his studio serves as a sanctuary for creativity and self-expression. Outside the studio, Kalenderian stages frequent pop-ups, group exhibitions, and events that celebrate artists within his orbit. His paintings are a continuation of this ethos, acting as records of the people he cares about (friends, family, and fleeting acquaintances alike). Each portrait is a testament to love and a ledger of connection.
Kalenderian is an artist deeply aware of his place within contemporary art, and acknowledges the influence of those who came before him. He may be painting his friends, but in this exhibition he’s doing so within one of painting’s oldest traditions—bathers. By placing people from his own life into this rich and historic visual language, he’s not just documenting them; he’s giving them a place in the canon. As he puts it, “If I am painting one of my friends, and if the friend sees it, and they are happy—alright, I did my job.”
As Annie Armstrong notes, “This is what Kalenderian calls the ‘jungle gym of the LA painting community’—a web of artists climbing, swinging, slipping off, and reappearing again. His paintings work like a visual oral history that is less interested in hierarchy than in presence. ‘If you don’t remember someone,’ he says, ‘this is me saying you should.’”
Raffi Kalenderian (b. 1981 in Los Angeles, CA) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, and completed residencies at St. Barthélemy, French West Indies, and the Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA.
Kalenderian has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Paris, France; Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY; Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zürich, Switzerland; Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Nassima Landau Foundation, Tel Aviv, Israel; Buchmann Galerie, Berlin, Germany; Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy; Marc Jancou Fine Art, New York, NY; Medium, St. Barthélemy, French West Indies; and Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA.
He has been included in recent group exhibitions at VETA Galeria, Madrid, Spain; Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY; Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; ABR Contemporary, Miami Beach, FL; Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zürich, Switzerland; BB&M Gallery, Seoul, South Korea; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA; Tif Sigfrids, Comer, GA; McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco, CA; Setareh Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany; Lundgren Gallery, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Galerie Lefebvre & Fils, Paris, France; and the Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
His work may be found in the collections of the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach, CA; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN; and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA.
Kalenderian lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
