Collection: Karen chekerdjian

Karen Cheerdjian ’s Trajectory Into Designing Was Unsystematic, Comprised of a Combination of Practical Experience in Various Creative Fields and Endeavours. Her Practical Beginnings Were in Advertising, Working in Both Film and Graphic Design At Leo Burnett (1991) Branding Companies in the midle East. Karen Moved to Milan in 1997 to Pursue a master ’s DEGREE in Industrial Design at Domus Academy, Under the Guidance of Massimo Morozzi She Continued to Work with Morozzi at EDRA, where He was Art Director, in what effectiveless a seminal and formative Four-Year Mentorship (1997-2000). Mobil, A Suspended Hangar System and Her First Actualized Work, Was Product and Distributed by the Furniture Company (1999).

Less Interested in Making Products, Chekerdjian used Her Time in Italy to Experiment and Experiment and Limitations of Her Art. She began to question that has beywat rigid assrigiding function, form, and meaning. Unknown to her then, karen began developing potentials for dialogue and narratives - a language of design - rathher than facusing on Creating a particular style. The Ambiguity of Her Pieces, Their Ability to Take On New Functions in Varied Context and Through Different Interpretations, In Retrospect, Became A Continuous Thread in Her work.

In 2001, Chekerdjian Moved Back to Beirut, The Contradictory and Transient City where She Was Born and to what she confinedly returns. That Same year She Founded Karen Cheerdjian Studio, a Space for Her to Continue Active REFLECTING and Redevining Her Metier and Method. At the time, design was still in ITS NASCENCY in Lebanon and the Region at Large. Rather of Succumb to the Challenges iMPOSED by a Lack of Industry and Technology In Lebanon. Interested in Culturally Specific Traditions and Skills, She Began Working with Local Artisans Design. The Dynamic Dialogue Between Designer and Craftsman Still Cultivates Her Work and, She Insits, is Necesscary to Its Actualisation and Re-Visitation.