Reviews
I’m honored that Dr. Salerian has chosen to revive his artistic abilities to explore greatness in my uncle through his works, provocative recreations of well –known pictorial moments of our 35th president.
– The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy
How long has it been since we (the viewers) were exposed to a great big collection of hard-won and unabashedly expressionistic canvasses done most emphatically by a “driven” artist? Salerian does painterly data or, in his words, “story-telling” very nicely. It’s possible to enjoy these paintings alone, or for their narrative importance to JFK. He gives his arm’s radius the whole, and he isn’t self-conscious or swamped by a little ghost mentoring by greats like Soutine or De Kooning.
- Mary Grigonis, painter
For me, these paintings represent the passion of this man [Alen Salerian] and the relentlessness of his search for honesty, integrity, and accountability. He is the Diogenes of our own time in his constant pursuit of honesty and truth.
– Bobby Muller, co-founder, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize
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Welcome to the Magnificent Journey
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I was sixteen years old in 1963, a teenager in Istanbul, the day I heard the news about John F. Kennedy’s assassination. I barely spoke English and I had no connection to the U.S. presidency or to the Kennedys, but the news made me cry – and the memory of that day is still with me decades later. Today, as a practicing psychiatrist in Washington, DC, I view myself not as a painter, but as a storyteller mesmerized by J.F.K. and his heroic legacy.
What is so great about J.F.K.?
Is President Kennedy’s intervention to prevent nuclear catastrophe during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 a testament to his greatness? How about his commitment to space exploration that culminated in landing the first man on the moon? Or his vision of altruistic engagement abroad that led to the creation of the Peace Corps?
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Or his use of federal troops to precipitate an end to segregated college campuses? Do these acts embody greatness? Or his wisdom to order the withdrawal of military troops from Vietnam in 1963 initiating an end to our military engagement there? I believe that these actions, among his many outstanding contributions to peace and justice, constitute greatness.
Why do I paint JFK? Perhaps I am no more than a human amygdala and hippocampus – the brain repositories of human emotional memories – traveling on the shoulders of the former President, recording his journey.
And what a magnificent journey it has been! I feel privileged, through these paintings, to feel, touch, smell, inhale, exhale, and celebrate the life of a man with a dynamic mind, heart, and soul.
-Alen J. Salerian, M.D.
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JFK Artwork featured in Washington City Paper
Dr. Salerian on Voice of America In this audio clip of an interview with Voice of America Alen J. Salerian, MD discusses the inspiration for his artwork – the dynamic life and tragic complex death of President John F. Kennedy.
Listen to the interviewAbout The Artist
Washington psychiatrist Alen J. Salerian first entered the fine arts stage in Washington, D.C. with a blast of color and energy. He grew up in Istanbul as the son of internationally recognized painter Kristin Saleri, and moved to the U.S. as a young physician. After practicing psychiatry for 32 years, he began painting two years ago, passionately embracing his creative roots. By that time he had authored two books and numerous scientific papers in his field of medicine. As a renowned psychiatrist he has served as a consultant in forensics and an advisor to U.S. Government agencies and the media on issues related to the practice of psychiatry. His intellectual curiosity continues to challenge the norms and amaze all who know him. His late friend Norman Mailer lauded his creative daring stating, “Here is one psychiatrist with an in-roaring rage at psychiatric cant and it comes out in a caterwauling fury which clears the air and enlivens one with its daring.” He lives in Potomac, Maryland with his wife, Judy, and his four children.
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