Envy Man Magazine Online

You are here: Home

The Art of Sench

According to Sench, Walt Disney was his earliest influence. “I was drawing Mickey Mouse at a very early age. Thank God I didn’t have close relatives that were artists,” he explained. “They would have definitely tried to teach me, as a child, how to draw and how not to draw.” Luckily, he avoided that.

He is of rich Armenian flavor, down to earth, warm-hearted, and flexible, somehow a great combination. Sench now makes his home in Los Angeles in a home studio I was anxious to visit. A wide, genuine smile greeted me, so I was forced to notice a human first, rather than an artist. His studio has a cozy, pleasant and peaceful atmosphere that made it impossible to feel as if I were anywhere but home. He lives in his world. Sench noted, “I would gladly find myself living ‘inside’ of my pieces.” Well, I believe that. Sench seems very cautious and protective of his world, but as soon as I turned around to see what the walls carried, I was welcomed into his world.

His artwork is as academic as much as it is inventive and unconventional. His technique and skill are apparent and are not just assets to the “windmills of his mind” as his artwork reflects. These are of an original thinker and of a constructive core. In his hand is a brush that becomes a tool of excellence to exploit virtuously and efficiently. The negligent tendencies of some contemporary surrealists who maneuver a brush without order, reason, or substantial consequence are void in his paintings. Order is a concept he appreciates greatly as much as accuracy and detail. Sench is a man of skill.

Sench has a style that is compared to the great Salvador Dali’s. “I don’t know how to feel when I’m compared to someone else,” he says. There are similarities to Dali in the style that Sench uses only because it is surrealism. “I’m glad to be compared to a person [Dali] I greatly appreciate as an artist who is free from any kind of formality,” Sench adds. When Dali’s work was banned in the former USSR, Sench and his friends would secretly view Dali’s slides. “For the first time in my life,” Sench admits, “a switch went off inside my mind that gave me the ability to look differently at art.”

To be accurate, and again upon my own assumption, I would assume Dali was just that—a switch. Sench’s art is unique; there is nothing more to say. No comparison or analogy would appear adequate enough to reflect the essence of his artwork— it is his and no one else’s. Yes one would, to be perfectly objective, associate his artwork with Dali’s, but I personally do not. Must we compare to understand?

Sench works only on one oil canvas at a time, spending an average of 10-12 hours a day. Paying close attention to detail, each piece takes approximately a month to complete. He employs a very peculiar technique when transferring the image from paper onto canvas to ensure greater accuracy. He notes that pieces like Moon Show or Great Grandmother’s Fairy Tale take longer and in fact, it all depends on the circumstances in his life when it comes to the amount of time each piece takes. Possibly he is somewhat of a perfectionist but it does not handicap his innovative efforts.

His thoughts are not scattered around the canvas, they are of complex, yet harmonic, flow that is attractive, magnetic, and strong—an elaborate context conveyed with such precision! The pieces flirt and one cannot help but respond. Colorful, bright images come alive in a curious motion and play in one’s head. It is a tangible philosophy that is not trapped within the frames of the canvas but seeks to escape. It is virtual reality produced by beautiful subconscious. It reinforces the appreciation of a subtle and simple life. Nothing is angry or forced.

According to the artist most of the content of his artwork comes from his dreams. This is possibly why his art is so conciliative. But, there is another reason.

It is interesting to note that, as Sench agreed, none of his works bare negative content. No ill thought or dark concept is present. His works do not scream gibberish like much of the surrealistic art of the world; they speak peace and tranquility. Colors are bright, full, and solid. “I feel bad if I am dressed in black” the artist says. He has self-content without drama. His works are simply without darkness.

The majority of Sench’s creations are deeply based on memories and impressions from his youth, many of which came from his great grandmother who lived to be 117 years old. “She used to tell me interesting and sometimes unusual fairy tales... which are used in my paintings.” Great Grandmother’s Fairy Tale is the perfect example of those stories. Moon Show is another example and is an expression from the artist’s emotions of fear and joy while visiting the circus for the first time in his life. Upon close observation you can’t help but notice the detail of expression in each face of the circusgoers in the bleachers.

In Still Life from the Bible there are two distinct objects that are also prominent in Dali’s work— bread and an egg. Sench explains that in this piece the bread on the plate represents the bread that Jesus equally shared among his followers and the glove is a symbol of the Creator’s hand that gave mankind water and in turn gave life to everything on Earth.

Today, Sench’s works are housed in numerous private collections around the world including the United States, Russia, Germany, Spain, England, Holland and France. Two of his larger works, New York and Millennium are located in the Chrysler Building in New York. He’s entitled to broad recognition—his artwork is truly universal. What is universal about it one would ask? Color, diversity, dimension, intensity, and depth—all that is Art.