By Jennifer Kamm
Daily Bruin Contributor
An artist’s job is to tell a story.
Some use rhymes, some use melodies, and others choose to rely on
light, shadows and color.
UCLA third-year Navid Eghbalieh is an artist who favors the
latter option. Until this Friday, Eghbalieh’s visual stories
will be displayed at Northern Lights Coffeehouse as part of an
ongoing showcase of student artwork.
Northern Lights manager Tim Killops is responsible for selecting
the works to be exhibited. According to Killops, any art can be
displayed as long as it does not contain material of an offensive
nature, like pornography.
“We’re pretty open to just about anything,”
Killops said. “Coffee shops and artwork, they kind of go
together.”
The coffeehouse often acts as a gallery. A couple years ago a
UCLA student collected artwork from a Los Angeles high school and
put together an exhibit at Northern Lights, and another student
recently displayed artwork whose proceeds benefited underprivileged
art students.
The artwork, ranging from paintings to sculptures, usually
remains in the public eye for about two weeks. Eghbalieh’s
showcase, however, due to critical acclaims from professors and
students alike, has decorated the coffeehouse for over three
weeks.
Surprisingly, Eghbalieh’s major is chemistry, his minor is
education and he plans on attending medical school after
graduation, an academic career giving no obvious hint to his
artistic side.Â
“I was totally blown away by the quality of
(Eghbalieh’s) work,” said Miriam Dexter, a professor of
women’s studies who formerly taught the artist. “He has
a very refined sense of symbolism, a beautiful sense of color. What
I appreciated the most was his refinement.”
Claiming to be a perfectionist, Eghbalieh incorporates intricate
details into all of his works, sometimes spending over 20 hours on
completing the additional elements. Eghbalieh relies on details not
only to add depth to his artwork, but also to tell stories about
his subjects.
“There are different interpretations of the painting (of
the old man),” Eghbalieh said about one of his works.
“What I get from it is that this guy has a pair of keys to
some door, but he’s so lost. And those keys are useless
because even if they could open up a pot of gold, it doesn’t
really matter because he’s completely lost.”
Eghbalieh’s method is also unique in that viewers will
never see a title accompanying his artwork.
“I don’t title (my work) by giving it a name, like
“˜The Old Guy.’ The way I title (work) is by the emotion
I get from it,” Eghbalieh said. “I like painting
things with emotions. Not that I would mind painting roses and
stuff like that, but I don’t get as much out of it. I need to
be able to feel something from what I did.”
Realizing that the urge to express himself through paints or
charcoal can strike at any time, Eghbalieh tries to keep art
supplies on hand at all times. He painted one of the pieces on
display while he was vacationing in Lake Tahoe.
“I was near a beach house and I just woke up and it was
snowing and I was like, “˜I have to paint this,'”
Eghbalieh said.
Another aspect that characterizes Eghbalieh’s artwork is
the fact that he only works with seven or eight colors.
“For a lot of people, if they want black, they’ll
just use black paint. I’ve learned to mix every color.
If you mix green and burgundy you’ll get black,”
Eghbalieh said.Â
Although this is the first time Eghbalieh’s artwork has
been displayed on campus, his work has previously been showcased at
Payman’s Gallery, a private gallery located at Westwood and
Santa Monica Boulevards.
“I’ve had people want me to paint them family
portraits and I’ve done live sketches for people,”
Eghbalieh said.
And the cost for Eghbalieh’s services don’t come
cheap. One of his paintings sold for $15,000. His pencil sketches
can start anywhere from $600 to a couple thousand dollars; a
portrait can cost about $5,000 or $6,000.
Despite the chunk of change in his wallet, Eghbalieh claims that
selling his artwork does not bring him elation.
“I’ve done hundreds of paintings and I think
I’ve sold the majority away,” he said. “After a
while when you want to go back to it, you can’t really call
the person and say “˜Hey, can I come over your house and check
out my own painting?'”
Regardless of the pain involved in selling a piece, Eghbalieh
believes that the thrill in creating one makes it all
worthwhile.
“I could be in the worst mood, but I can just put (a
piece) in front of me … and everybody else disappears, you
know,” Eghbalieh said. “It’s really neat because
it’s an escape yet at the same time I enjoy what I’m
doing.”
ART: Any students interested in having their artwork exhibited
at Northern Lights should contact Tim Killops at (310)
206-0373.