Sam Kissajukian

Sam Kissajukian
Born1986 (age 39–40)
Sydney, Australia
Notable work300 Paintings
Museum of Modernia
Paintings of Modernia
Comedy career
MediumStand-up, solo performance, visual art
GenresObservational comedy, autobiographical performance
SubjectsBipolar disorder, creative process, mental health, contemporary art world
Websitesamkissajukian.com

Sam Kissajukian (born 1986) is an Australian stand-up comedian and visual artist based in Sydney. He is best known for his autobiographical solo show 300 Paintings.[1][2]

Career

Kissajukian began his stand-up career in the early 2010s and performed on the Australian comedy circuit for over a decade.[3][4]

In 2021, Kissajukian took a hiatus from stand-up to pursue visual art. During a period later diagnosed as a manic episode, he rented an abandoned warehouse in Sydney and produced 300 large-scale paintings over five months during lockdown.[4][5] The period ended in a depressive episode, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in May 2022.[3] He developed the experience into 300 Paintings, a multimedia solo show combining stand-up comedy, storytelling, and projections of his artwork.[3][6] The show premiered at Sydney Fringe Festival in September 2022, where it won the Best Comedy and the Festival Director's Choice award.[3][7] 300 Paintings subsequently toured Australian festivals including the Melbourne Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival, and Perth's Fringe World.[3][8]

In 2023 and 2024, he developed a companion work, Museum of Modernia, an immersive comedy show in which his paintings are displayed on a large LED screen as he guides the audience through a fictional digital museum.[9][10] At the 2024 Adelaide Fringe, his exhibition Paintings of Modernia won the Eran Svigos Award for Best Visual Art (Solo Exhibition), while Museum of Modernia received the Mental Health Awareness Award.[11][12]

Later in 2024, Kissajukian presented 300 Paintings at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[13][14] The show received a four-star review from The Scotsman and a Lustrum Award from Summerhall.[13][15]

Kissajukian made his Off-Broadway debut with 300 Paintings at the Vineyard Theatre in New York in late 2024.[16][17] The initial run sold out and was extended into early 2025. The New Yorker described the show as a "beautifully frank" solo piece.[5] In 2025, Kissajukian was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, while 300 Paintings received nominations for a Lucille Lortel Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Show.[18][19]

Exhibitions

Kissajukian has held solo exhibitions alongside his performances. In 2023, his work was exhibited at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery in New South Wales and at the Brisbane Powerhouse.[3] He returned to Brisbane Powerhouse in 2024 and held a pop-up exhibition at the Stanley Street Gallery in Sydney.[20]

During the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, his paintings were displayed at Summerhall.[21] Later that year, his work was exhibited at the Vineyard Theatre in New York City, where the exhibition continued into 2025.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Sam and the three monkeys". ABC listen. June 8, 2013.
  2. ↑ Topsfield, Jewel (April 10, 2024). "'I felt I had to be manic to produce things'". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Topsfield, Jewel (April 10, 2024). "'I felt I had to be manic to produce things'". Brisbane Times.
  4. 1 2 "'some days I didn't sleep and just kept painting'". PerthNow. July 13, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "300 Paintings". The New Yorker.
  6. ↑ Miller, Deb (November 22, 2024). "Deep dive into the mind and work of a brilliant bipolar artist in '300 Paintings' Off-Broadway at Vineyard Theatre". DC Theater Arts.
  7. ↑ "2023 Sydney Fringe Awards". Sydney Fringe.
  8. ↑ Smerd, Georgina (March 2, 2024). "Fringe Review: Sam Kissajukian - Museum of Modernia".
  9. ↑ "Sam Kissajukian: Museum Of Modernia art review – A uniquely human experience". The List.
  10. ↑ "Interview: Sam Kissajukian". Fest Magazine. February 6, 2024.
  11. ↑ Staff Writer (March 17, 2024). "Adelaide Fringe shines a spotlight on 2024 award winners".
  12. ↑ Pascale, Louise (March 18, 2024). "Museum of Modernia Wins mindshare Mental Health Awareness Award".
  13. 1 2 "Edinburgh Fringe Festival theatre reviews: 300 Paintings | 1 in a Chameleon". The Scotsman. August 5, 2024.
  14. ↑ Fisher, Mark (August 15, 2024). "Beyond the jokes: comedians switch to theatre at Edinburgh festival". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ Cristi, A. A. "Photos: 300 PAINTINGS At Vineyard Theatre". BroadwayWorld.com.
  16. ↑ Feng, Rhoda (29 November 2024). "Artists, then (As in the 17th Century) and Now". The New York Times.
  17. ↑ "300 Paintings Returns Off-Broadway January 13 | Playbill".
  18. ↑ "Our Class Leads 2025 Lucille Lortel Award Wins; Read the Complete List Here | Playbill".
  19. ↑ "2024-2025 Drama Desk Awards nominations announced". ny1.com.
  20. ↑ "Stanley Street Gallery". Stanley Street Gallery.
  21. ↑ "300 Paintings - Summerhall Festival 2024".
  22. ↑ "SAM KISSAJUKIAN: 300 PAINTINGS".
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.