This series is built upon impossible collaboration. Each work within Collaborations in Absentia begins with a reproduction taken from an art book: bronze sculpture by Arto Chakmakjian (1933–2019), a copper engraving by Sahak Sahakyan (1929-2010), and a watercolor by Martiros Saryan (1880-1972). Rather than working from digital files, the artworks are scanned and printed, then carried into three different neighborhoods of New York City: Lenox Hill, Carnegie Hill, and the Garment District, where they are directly painted over. The result is neither restoration nor appropriation, but a conversation across generations, a shared surface where contemporary gestures meet historic work, allowing artists separated by decades to occupy the same space.

At its core, Collaborations in Absentia reflects the resilience of artistic tradition. Many artists among displaced cultures are no longer living, yet their work continues to breathe through books, archives, museums, and private collections. Created through the lens of a third-generation Armenian artist, Collaborations in Absentia affirms that the influence of the past continues to shape and sustain contemporary artistic practices of the present. Painting over reproductions became a way of acknowledging that impact, not by preserving said past unchanged, but by allowing it to evolve through new hands, new places, and contemporary art forms. The legacy of the artisans who came before us remains tangible, reminding future generations that artistic lineage persists despite the forces of time. Throughout history, countless artists have emerged from communities marked by displacement, persecution, censorship, or deliberate attempts at cultural erasure. In those circumstances, art often becomes more than personal expression, it becomes a vessel through which memory survives. By collaborating with artists whose work has outlived them, Collaborations in Absentia affirms that creative traditions are not confined to a single lifetime.

The locations in Collaborations in Absentia are as important as the artists themselves. New York’s neighborhoods were shaped by generations of immigrants who arrived to the U.S. For countless people displaced by war, persecution, or political upheaval, New York became a place where identities could be preserved while new ones were formed. Collaborations in Absentia is situated within a larger story of migration and cultural continuity. The series suggests that culture and legacy are not static or confined to one generation, they survive through adaptation and interpretation of the people willing to carry them forward. In that sense, Collaborations in Absentia honor not only Armenian artists, but the enduring legacy of artists from every community whose histories have been shaped by the determination to create despite attempts at erasure.