b.1981 Los Angeles, CA

Lives and works in LA

Raffi Kalenderian paints disaffected portraits of his young, ambivalent-­looking friends against an ultra-­flat two-­dimensional space, the patterns on clothing and furniture forming elaborate abstractions. His work attempts to capture a total moment, not merely the sitter in isolation from their environment but the complete psychological framework in which they exist (sometimes depicting a doppelganger alongside his subjects to this end). “The social aspect is incredibly meaningful to me,” he has said of his practice. “Technology can be so isolating, so sitting with a friend for a few hours and observing them, talking, is a great way to slow things down.”

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