Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1949, Jean Boghossian is an abstract, multidisciplinary
artist of Armenian descent. He studied Economics and Sociology at Saint Joseph
University (USJ) in Beirut while working for the family jewellery business. In 1975,
he moved to Belgium to escape the civil war in Lebanon. Settled in Brussels, he
enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, Boitsfort, while continuing to oversee the
family business. The artist is known for using fire and smoke on his works and is
one of only a small number of artists who uses the method of burn degradation
on his canvas. He also applies fire to other media, such as paper, books and even
furniture while producing fissures, cracks and perforations on the pieces. He
works across a range of media that spans watercolour, oil, charcoal and acrylics.
Defying categorisation, he uses a variety of techniques and also sculpts in wood,
clay, polystyrene and bronze. In 1992, he set up the Boghossian Foundation with
the support of his father and brother. The artist has exhibited extensively with solo and group shows held at: Ayyam Gallery, Dubai (2018); Art Abu Dhabi (2017, 2013); 57th Venice Biennale (2017); Beirut Exhibition Center (2015, 2011); Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collection Burri, Città di Castello (2015); and Villa Empain – Boghossian Foundation, Brussels (2014).
