Artist Lusine Saakyan presents 'Interconnection' at Glenmark Art Gallery in Glendale, California, a solo exhibition exploring Armenian heritage through petroglyphs, carpets, rugs, and textiles. Saakyan, who previously worked as a director in early childhood education, has shifted from decorative art to research-based works that decode ancient visual languages. The exhibition features embroidered textile artworks that trace motifs from prehistoric rock carvings in the Armenian Highlands to woven patterns in traditional rugs, highlighting continuity across millennia.
The exhibition matters because it bridges contemporary art with deep cultural memory, offering a scholarly yet accessible lens on Armenian identity. By connecting petroglyphs—the earliest visual records of Armenian ancestry—to living textile traditions, Saakyan reframes decorative patterns as encoded ancestral knowledge. The show also underscores the role of diaspora artists in Glendale's vibrant Armenian community, and has drawn praise from experts like Hratch Koziboyekian of the Armenian Rug Society and gallery manager Kevin Briggs.