Pete Moye’
Arts Button

A display of passion for art and music were observed in the paintings of Cerritos College Arts instructor Hagop Najarian this past Saturday.

The closing reception of the exhibition Serenade took place at the Professional Artists in the Schools Gallery in Downtown Fullerton.

Najarian, alongside his childhood friend John Sallom, were chosen to display their work in a two-person show at the PAS Gallery, that opened during the Fullerton Art Walk on Aug. 5 in the Magoski Arts Colony.

Serenade was a fusion of Najarian’s music and paintings.

The structure of the paintings visually have a similar rhythmic flow as jazz.

“This show is particularly about sound, music and art, visual impact and audio impact. How do I make music and color come together through paint,” Najarian said.

Erica Figueroa, humanities major said, “I personally like realism and photo realism, but the way he portrays the cubism is actually really well.

“I’m not really big on cubistic art or cubism, but I like how he does his pieces,” Figueroa said.

Making music and drawing from a young age, Najarian later attended Fullerton College where he chose art as a career.

“I’m always battling between both,” Najarian said. “Half of my studio is a recording studio and the other is a painting studio,”

Najarian’s band, Action Now!, who performed at the art show, took the stage, jumped in the air with their guitars and harmonizing together.

The group not only played its songs, but also covered Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” and punk band, The Buzzcocks “Boredom.”

Fellow colleague from Cerritos College that attended the closing reception, Steven Portigal, said, “He can do it all, he can paint, make music, and writes music. He’s a very talented man.”

After the music performance the show started to wind down, and as people started to leave, they left with a reminder at the exit which had a sign that read “pause and reflect.”

Art history professor and Cerritos College Art Gallery Curator James MacDevitt acknowledged how Najarian incorporates his teaching methods with the foundation of having a strong following from his students.

“The thing I’ve noticed about Hagop is that he doesn’t just teach a class, he builds a community,” MacDevitt said.

Najarian said, “To me it’s a community college, you always have a young bunch of interested people trying to make their career and I can be a positive influence on them.”

Najarian’s work is currently displayed at the Cerritos College Art Gallery along with other faculty for the Faculty Art Exhibition.