Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art

LONDON

CHARITY AUCTION OF CONTEMPORARY ARMENIAN ART

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art In aid of Yerevan My Love

8 King Street St. James’s London SWiY 6QT +44 (0)20 7839 9060 telephone +44 (0)20 7839 1611 facsimile

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art In aid of Yerevan My Love 4 Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love

CHARITY AUCTION OF CONTEMPORARY ARMENIAN ART IN AID OF YEREVAN MY LOVE

Friday 9 December 2011 RECEPTION AND VIEW at 7.00 pm AUCTION at 8.00 pm Christie’s 8 King Street, St James’s London SW1Y 6QT AUCTIONEER Hugh Edmeades AUCTION NAME In sending written bids or making enquiries, this sale should be referred to as Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art

CHARITY CONTACT REGISTERED CHARITY DETAILS: Hratch Tchilingirian Yerevan My Love Charitable Foundation Trustee of Yerevan My Love 24 Baghramyan Street +44 (0)20 7828 2883 Yerevan [email protected] Armenia Tel: +374 (10)532634 CHRISTIE’S CONTACT email: [email protected] Alice van Cutsem Charity Number: 222.160.01136 +44 (0)20 7389 2858 [email protected] Photographs by © Graziella Vigo from the book Armenia CONDITIONS OF SALE published by SKIRA This auction is subject to conditions of sale which appear at the back of the catalogue.

Please note that no buyer’s premium will apply.

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 5 Welcome

I am delighted to welcome you this evening to the first ever International Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art to be held at Christie’s in support of Yerevan My Love. The objectives of Yerevan My Love are to safeguard Yerevan, to save the traditions, artistic and architectural heritage of the 3000-year-old capital city and thus improve the education and life experiences of children and young people particularly from disadvantaged communities. Yerevan My Love is an inspirational charity led by Dr. Armen Sarkissian. I have had the honour to visit Armenia and witness first hand Armen’s tireless work to raise funds and awareness for such a culturally important and majestic country, ensuring that future generations will benefit from the rich cultural heritage of Armenia. The generous support you can give at this evening’s auction of spectacular art will help to preserve Armenia’s vast architectural heritage, an integral part of the soul of the country and will ensure the continuation of traditional architecture and craftsmanship for future generations. It is with my sincere gratitude to Armen and all those who have made this event possible that I wish you the most marvellous evening. Thank you for supporting Yerevan My Love.

Viscount Linley

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Introduction

The first ever Contemporary Armenian Art auction at Christie’s in London is a significant occasion to celebrate. It is significant not only because it brings together the works of some of the most brilliant contemporary Armenian artists, but also because it serves as an important charitable event, which will benefit heritage-led regeneration and social impact projects in Armenia. The millennia rich cultural and spiritual heritage of Armenia is the legacy Armenians around the world live with today. Centuries-old unique architectural monuments and churches, rich collections of illuminated manuscripts and libraries of ancient and modern literature, soulful music and inspiring liturgical tradition, delicate handicrafts and exquisite works of art are some of the timeless creations and national treasures that have been passed down through generations. This precious national heritage has survived centuries of peril, wars, physical destruction and virtual annihilation. Indeed, the first modern art museum in the Soviet Union was opened in Armenia in 1972 through the efforts of the well-known artist Henrik Igityan. Four decades ago this was a revolutionary endeavour that opened a new window into modern art for society in Armenia. Paintings were donated by artists living in Armenia and the Diaspora. Other works of art were acquired by the government. Works by Martiros Saryan, Kochar, Minas Avetissyan, Grigor Khandjyan, Jansem, Karzou and many others were exhibited for the appreciation and enjoyment of the public. Over the decades thousands of visitors have been able to see fine works of art from the 1960s to the present. This auction at Christie’s nearly 40 years after the opening of the Modern Art Museum in Yerevan is yet another milestone and historic event as it exposes Armenian artists to an international audience. A world-famous platform provided by Christie’s, one of the world’s oldest and finest auction houses. The proceeds of this auction will be donated entirely to the charity Yerevan My Love to furnish and equip a sanctuary and clinic for single mothers and disadvantaged children in the heart of Yerevan. The centre will have well-equipped modern facilities and will provide professional social and health services to destitute mothers and children. Yerevan My Love is dedicated to preserving architecturally significant buildings in Yerevan and putting them to use to improve the life experience of disabled children, young people and disadvantaged families. Following the successful fundraising at Windsor Castle (2010) and Buckingham Palace (2011), three buildings in the vicinity of St. Hovhanes Church in the Kond neighbourhood of Yerevan are being built and reconstructed. Three additional buildings will be reconstructed in the Old Yerevan neighbourhood as part of the second phase of the Yerevan My Love project. Yerevan My Love is not only a charitable organisation, but it is, most importantly, an all-embracing philosophy or culture of life: it is love for one’s hometown or country in the fullest sense of the word and in the widest implication of the idea. Yerevan My Love is first and foremost an effort to change attitudes towards the city and engender a sense of respect for not only its physical cleanliness, landscape and public spaces but also its cultural heritage and values. The ultimate goal of Yerevan My Love is to work along with every resident of Yerevan to preserve the rich heritage and unique character of the city.

Armen Sarkissian

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Yerevan My Love

Yerevan My Love is a heritage-led regeneration project dedicated to preserving architecturally significant buildings in Yerevan and by adaptive reuse, to improve the life experience of disabled children, young people and disadvantaged families. Following the very successful fundraising in February 2010 at Windsor Castle and in June 2011 at Buckingham Palace, the first phase of the project involves the construction of three buildings and started in April 2011: 1. A three-storey building that will become a Mother and Child Shelter for disadvantaged children and mothers with social, psychological and economic difficulties with a common room, meeting rooms, dining room, kitchen, playrooms for the children and other relevant facilities. 2. Two adjoining two-storey buildings that will house a nursery for deaf and mute orphans and children from deprived families. Facilities will include common play areas, a dining room, kitchen and rest areas. 3. Three additional architecturally significant buildings will be reconstructed in the Old Yerevan neighbourhood as part of the second phase of Yerevan My Love project. The current fundraising effort will help furnish and equip the Mother and Child Shelter. The centre will help prevent marginalisation of women who are in dire situations for a variety of reasons such as family disputes, domestic violence, early motherhood, poverty and homelessness. The Mother and Child Shelter will fill the gap in Yerevan’s social service chain and become a jump-start place, providing its beneficiaries with an opportunity to continue their lives in a positive stream. All relevant services will be provided in-house to the residents such as shelter, meals, clothes, healthcare, hygiene, legal assistance, psycho-social assistance, development of parental skills, psychological therapy where needed and vocational training. The Mother and Child Shelter’s outreach services will include regular visits to the Shelter by beneficiaries and relevant professional assistance, as well as regular visits by professional staff to the beneficiaries’ homes to help them with their social environment and adjustment.

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 9 Armenian Art: Variety and Mastery Combined

Armenian art developed under the scrutiny and control of Soviet authorities for more than 70 years. Nevertheless, there were several periods within this timeframe that were favourable or disruptive for art. In 1920, Martiros Saryan returned to Armenia and his orientalist paintings became a part of Armenian artistic identity.

Even as revolutionary enthusiasm and experimental inclinations were peculiar to the first decade of Soviet rule, the Stalinist totalitarianism and conservatism of the following years imposed a strict ideological pseudo-classical art. It was only in the 1960s that a new trend inspired by Western modern art started to emerge in Armenia. Armenian artists started to study post-impressionism, cubism, fauvism or expressionism. In the process they sought a distinctive kind of aesthetics that was international as well as national with corresponding artistic tools of national consciousness. Indeed, they went through major difficulties to achieve approval as they were blamed for ‘worshipping formalism’ by conservative critics.

However, thanks to these struggles, in the realm of art Armenia became the most independent country in the Soviet Union. Not only did Armenian Modern Art refrain from submitting to ‘official expectations’, but more significantly it had its own institution, the Museum of Contemporary Art, established in 1972 through the efforts of art expert Henrik Igityan. This was at a time when for instance, within about two years of the Museum’s founding, the KGB in Moscow placed heavy burdens on Russian avant-garde artists who had taken part in an open exhibition which was forcefully ended, now known as the Bulldozer Exhibition. Summarising the situation of Armenian art in this period, Peter Spielman, the director of Bochum Museum, wrote in 1995, ‘Armenian artists openly and courageously resisted the bureaucrats of central authority. Their art in those days seemed to me to be more liberal; their expressionism and form were more daring compared with other Socialist countries. Therefore, it is not surprising that the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art initiated by Henrik Igityan in the beginning of the 70s was the first and the only one in the Soviet Union and indeed, in the entire Socialist bloc’.

The Museum of Contemporary Art was able to put together a collection which included works by already well-known artists from Armenia and the Diaspora. It provided inspiration to young artists to be more experimental. No less significant was the role of private collections. In his book, Armenian Colour Palette, Igityan writes, ‘One cannot but remember with respect and admiration the collectors of those days when we were still young, those who truly appreciated art: physicists, agriculturalists, physicians, teachers and all kinds of functionaries who supported talented ... and in those years still unknown young painters. These were people who gave their last bits of savings with affectionate devotion. These were people who appreciated and understood art. It is only later that progressive artistic views, which seemed strange or unacceptable, become social norms, often becoming popular mechanically.’ The founder of the museum lamented that nowadays that culture of collecting has lost many of its valuable aspects.

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Nevertheless, Armenian collectors today, while rarely without profitable expectation, do have a deep sense of responsibility. Indeed, Armenian clients on the international scene add to the national artistic and intellectual wealth of Armenians by buying artworks, publishing catalogues and presenting them at high-level contemporary art exhibitions. Indeed, the process of collecting works of art enhances the exposure of Armenia’s cultural achievements to an international audience.

It should be noted that Armenian art collectors today tend to buy works by Armenian masters of the past. Their approach to current artists is conservative. However, today’s contemporary art could tomorrow become canonised art. Collectors prefer paintings to graphics or sculpture, while photography, installation and object art await their potential admirers. Political, social and environmental questions raised by art need appreciators and international influence and leading galleries can transform the situation.

It is pleasing to see the gradual albeit slow, increase of the significance of galleries. Influential art experts are seeking their mediation and more interested collectors are visiting exhibits organised by them. In the near future, this could mean that art collecting will become institutionalised and the market for artworks will become more organised.

Private collectors unlike institutions have more freedom in their choices and could become a major factor in the development of art in Armenia. In the 1980s, a new trend of art evolved in Armenia which contrasted the modernist art of the previous generation with its own contemporary art. This new trend was shaped in critical times and was significantly different from the previous generation’s art. Contemporary Armenian art is diverse, which includes virtually all styles and directions of art and presents a wide range of selection. The artists presented here are but a small group of artists in that rich variety.

Vardan Jaloyan Art Critic 12 Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love

I am treading my own path, but everywhere I look, I see faces of my Saints and hear the rustling of their wings ‘‘AIGANA GALI (b. 1980) ’’

By combining traditional and contemporary techniques I am trying to explore the possible coexistence of the new and the old, as well as ‘‘the artificial and the natural DAVID KAREYAN ’’(1973-2011)

Painting as a deep discerning and divining of the world, emotionally enriches the inner life ‘‘if dominated by a thinking heart MARINA DILANYAN (b.’’ 1957)

Abstract Art for me is a virtual area, philosophical conception, alternative theory of visual perception and dimensions ‘‘NAREK AVETISSIAN (b. 1969)’’

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 13 1. LAZAR (GHAZAR) MIRZOYAN (b. 1961) Blissful travelling

signed (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 31Ω x 31Ω in. (80 x 80 cm.) Painted in 2010

1961 Born in Echmiadzin

1974 Graduated from Eghishe Tadevosyan Artists’ School, Echmiadzin

1981 Graduated from the Yerevan Panos Terlemezyan Fine Arts College

1989 Established charitable NGO St. Echmiadzin

2000 Founded the Noah’s Arc environmental NGO

2007 Member of the Artists’ Union of Armenia

Exhibitions (selection)

1974 International Children’s Exhibit, Prague

1977 Children’s Spring Exhibit, Echmiadzin

1980 Spring Exhibit, Artists’ Union of Armenia, Yerevan

1995 International Spring Exhibition, Prague

2008 Jubilee Exhibit for the 75th anniversary of the Artists’ Union of Armenia, Yerevan

2008 Exhibition dedicated to the memory of the late Vazgen I, the Catholicos of all Armenia, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

Currently lives in Echmiadzin and works in Yerevan.

Lazar (Ghazar) Mirzoyan’s works typically centre on the narrative of the universe depicted in vivid and bold colouring. In his compositions, he seeks to marry the opposing concepts of chaos and structure via a seemingly random pattern of shining circles matched with carefully elaborated abstract surfaces. The result is an intangible flow of colours, which somehow merge together in unison to create a non-figurative form.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 15 2. VAHAN TOPCHYAN (b. 1949) Lesson of vocalism

signed (lower left) watercolour on paper 12 x 11º in. (30.5 x 28.2 cm.) Executed in 2008

1949 Born in Gyumri

1969 Graduated from the School of Painting, Gyumri

1974 Attended the Yerevan Engineering Institute

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1993 Yerevan Kochkar Museum

2005 Lost Landscapes, Lost Visions, Cologne

2009 Armenian Fairy Tales, Honorary Consulate of Italy, Gyumri

Group exhibitions (selection)

1979 Academy of Fine Arts, Moscow

2002 Armenian Art, Saad Abad Centre, Tehran

2005 Stephanie’s Art Gallery, California

2006 Exhibition, Gallery 25, California

Currently lives and works in Gyumri.

The characters in Vahan Topchyan’s paintings and illustrations are imaginary concepts often with an ethereal quality to them. These figures in elaborate fashion, almost floating and flying in their movement within a fantasy world are often depicted within contrasting shades of colour and blurred boundaries where their palettes and lines are indistinct. The variation in tonal quality produces a sense of inner light and provides a utopian energy around the subjects, lending these paintings a tranquil and almost metaphysical feeling.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 17 3. SAMVEL BAGHDASARYAN (b. 1956) A girl in 36

signed and inscribed (reverse) mixed media on cardboard 30 x 19Æ in. (76 x 50 cm.) Created in 2011

1956 Born in Yerevan

1980 Graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Arts

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2001 Restoration, Intervention, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

2008 Soviet AGITART:Restoration, with Armine Hovhannisyan, BM Contemporary Art Centre, Istanbul

Group exhibitions (selection)

1995 Stream of Fire: New Art from Armenia, Nicosia

1997 Geo-Kunst Expedition, Documenta X, Kassel

2001 Beyond Icons, Contemporary Art in Armenia, Yerevan National Gallery

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Matching texture surfaces that hint at the minimalist tradition and the production of mass culture that is usually termed ‘trash’, Samvel Baghdasaryan in his delicately made pieces explores perceptions of what is seen as ‘high’ and ‘low’ in art whilst simultaneously questioning the values of civilisation and the seductive deception of mass culture as a result of our globalised world. Earlier works show how the artist evolved as a pioneer working in the communist structures, influenced by the socio-political environment of the time. This theme was explored and exhibited in the medium of posters in the well-known Soviet AGITART:Restoration exhibition (2008).

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 19 4. SAMVEL BAGHDASARYAN (b. 1956) The coronation of George V

mixed media on cardboard 27Ω x 19¬ in. (69.8 x 50 cm.) Created in 2010

1956 Born in Yerevan

1980 Graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Arts

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2001 Restoration, Intervention, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

2008 Soviet AGITART:Restoration, with Armine Hovhannisyan, BM Contemporary Art Centre, Istanbul

Group exhibitions (selection)

1995 Stream of Fire: New Art from Armenia, Nicosia

1997 Geo-Kunst Expedition, Documenta X, Kassel

2001 Beyond Icons, Contemporary Art in Armenia, Yerevan National Gallery

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 21 5. SARKIS HAMALBASHIAN (b. 1956) Merry-go-round

signed and dated (lower left), further signed and inscribed (reverse)

oil on canvas, unframed 25 3/4 x 31 ½ in. (65.5 x 80 cm.) Painted in 2011

1956 Born in Gyumri

1975 Graduated from the Yerevan Panos Terlemezyan Fine Arts College

2009 Awarded Honoured Artist of the Republic of Armenia

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1992 New Academy Gallery, London

2001 Die Galerie Bodenschatz, Basel

2002 Vicki Hovhannisyan Contemporary Art Gallery, Chicago

2009 National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

1992 Contemporary Armenian Artists, Gallery Vision, Kassel

1995 Stream of Fire: New Art from Armenia, Nicosia

2001 Contemporary Armenian Artists, National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan

2007 Musée d’Art Moderne d’Arménie, Orangerie et Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Sarkis Hamalbashian is one of the most significant post-Soviet Armenian artists, whose canvases exhibit a complex, fragmented composition and inspiring panoramic view. His art, close to expressionism, follows the spirit of fin de siècle and postmodernism where his works invoke multiple and seemingly contradicting sources such as Byzantine icons, Western miniature paintings, the classics of Renaissance and Baroque, Dutch genre painting and contemporary mass-media. These images are composed as if destroyed and constructed again, this technique and skill comparable with Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the grotesque body yet also reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch’s images, inspired by the first major Flemish fairs. These correlations and the frequently seen images of angels in the artist’s works imply a slightly guessed mystical utopia in his subjects and influence.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 23 6. ARARAT SARKISSIAN (B. 1956) Soil. Icon II

signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 29¿ x 45Æ in. (74 x 116 cm.) Painted in 2009

1956 Born in Gyumri

1975 Graduated from Yerevan Panos Terlemezyan Fine Arts College

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1994 Archetypes, Ex-Voto Gallery, Yerevan

2001 Signs and Icons, National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan

2004 Focus Armenia, Halle

2007 Searching for Paradise, Gabone Gallery, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

1999 Stream of Fire: New Art from Armenia, Jordan National Gallery, Amman

2001 Contemporary Art of Armenia, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran

2007 Musée d’Art Moderne d’Arménie, Orangerie et Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Highly detailed artworks that translate the myths of Armenian history into contemporary concepts are characteristic of Ararat Sarkissian, an Honoured Artist of the Republic of Armenia whose works often offer the viewer an almost microscopic perspective of the chosen subject. Delicately painted stems and the bare soil with its intricately depicted cracks and shreds give the impression of hieroglyphs, pictograms or runes encouraging us to draw comparisons between the canvas surface with written text. In Soil. Icon II, shreds and stems touch upon one another, coexisting to form a tangible community, evoking the silence and strength of nature and reminding us of that which we might have neglected.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 25 7. DAVID KAREYAN (1973-2011) Between two heart-beats

signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 34º x 39¡ in. (87 x 100 cm.) Painted in 2010

1973 Born in Vanadzor

1996 Graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1994 Fixation, AOKS, Yerevan

2002 Art, Body and Society, Hay-Art, Yerevan

2003 Are There Visible Things Impossible to Show?, ACCEA, Yerevan

2009 New Locality, ACCEA, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

1995 Question of Ark, Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan

2001 Beyond Icons, National Museum of Armenia, Yerevan

2003 50th Venice Biennale

2009 28th International Graphic Art Biennial, Ljubljana

Computer and internet images are used by David Kareyan to create and transform his canvases producing artworks which at first are reminiscent of pop art. Working on the concept of energy and power he constructs hybrids of humans, animals and machines merging them into new forms of life. These new forms together seek to question and damage that which has been the basis of capitalism, the nation state and the age-old subject of art; human identity. From this perspective his art breaks the main canons of capitalism resulting in works that can be termed as ‘post-identity art’.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 27 8. NERSES MELIKYAN (B. 1957) Grey tree

signed and dated (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas 47º x 47º in. (120 x 120 cm.) Painted in 2011

1957 Born in Echmiadzin

1980 Graduated from Fine Arts-Theatrical Institute, Department of Design, Yerevan

1988 Member of the Artists’ Union of Armenia

1998 Member of UNESCO

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1999 One nation, one culture, Artists’ Union of Armenia, Yerevan

1999 The anniversary of Shushy’s liberation, Artists’ Union of Armenia, Yerevan

2001 Modern Art of Armenia, Tehran

2008 Exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Vazgen Arajin, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

2000 Group exhibition in Toronto

2008 Oil-canvas collective exhibition, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

2009 Figurative art collective exhibition, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

2010 Exhibition dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the genocide, Academia Gallery, Yerevan

Currently lives and works in Echmiadzin.

Nerses Melikyan implements pointillist technique to create meditative pictures that exhibit a sense of calm and tenderness alongside subtle texture and colouring. The same tree features consistently in his compositions serving as a symbolic focal point of each painting. The artist believes that meditation is an important tool to empty and relax our consciousness so that we may become aware of the fragility of life relationships, a belief reflected in Grey Tree which shows how delicate and interdependent relationships are, visualised with the overbearing tree supported and nourished by its slender trunk.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 29 9. KIKI (GRIGOR) MIKAELYAN (b. 1956) Bobo

signed and dated (lower right), inscribed on label (reverse) oil on canvas 43 x 35Ω in. (109 x 90 cm.) Painted in 1991

1956 Born in Yerevan

1975 Graduated from Yerevan Fine Arts-Theatrical Institute, Yerevan

1978 Member of the Armenian Underground group exhibition

1987 Member of the 3rd Floor movement

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1993 Popov Gallery, Berlin

1995 BOBO Gallery, LA

1998 BGH Gallery, Santa Monica

2000 Planchat, Paris

Currently lives and works in the USA.

Grigor Mikaelyan, known best as Kiki is one of the founders of Armenian abstractionism. In his series titled Bobo (beasts) he interprets the human form and spirit via the use of heavy and thick brush strokes to create imposing circles, evoking the dark eyes of beasts where tensions and energies surrounding these appear uncontainable. These works are replete with interrupted, harsh, shapeless lines and intense dark spots disrupting our perceptions, making it impossible to analyse and unravel. The tangled composition echoes confusion and danger, evidence of Kiki’s unique action painting method whereby he works during the night, utilising the ‘dark energy’.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 31 10. AYVAZ AVOYAN (1955-2011) Two figures

signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas 35¡ x 27Ω in. (89.7 x 69.8 cm.) Painted in 2005

1955 Born in Gousanna

1974 Graduated from Gyumri Art College

1986 Graduated from the Fine Arts-Theatrical Institute, Yerevan

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1994 Modern Museum of Yerevan

2002 NEV Gallery, Amsterdam

2003 Rudolf Gallery, Amsterdam

2005 Exhibition in Amsterdam

Group exhibitions (selection)

1987 Light-blue Pyramid, Russian Art Museum, Yerevan

1996 Noyan Tapan, Beirut

1999 Armenian Modern Art On The Eve Of The 21st Century, Modern Art Museum, Yerevan

2005 Gevorgyan Gallery, Yerevan

Having experimented with analytic cubism and fauvism mixed with Ashile Gorky’s biomorphic shapes, Ayvaz Avoyan has created a deeply personal style influenced also by surrealism. After living in Yerevan for a few years, he moved to Echmiadzin where the old churches and 18th century icons influenced his later artworks, which touch upon exploring the subconscious of the human mind. The spiritual nature and struggling tensions portrayed in these Armenian medieval icons are visible in his paintings where dynamic primary colours create powerful intensities within eclectic compositions.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 33 11. TIGRAN MATULYAN (b. 1960) Paradise

signed and dated (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas laid down on two joined panels, unframed 39Æ x 39Ω in. (101 x 100.4 cm.) Painted in 2008

1960 Born in Yerevan

1980 Graduated from Art Studio, Yerevan

1982 Graduated from Art College, Yerevan

1982 Studied at the Art College of Graphics, Riga

Exhibitions solo (selection)

1995 Chamber Theatre Exhibition Hall, Yerevan

1996 Hamazgain Centre, Yerevan

2000 Noah’s Arch Ark Gallery, Beirut

2006 Gabone Art Gallery, Yerevan

Exhibitions group (selection)

1997 Armenian artists at the threshold of the 21st century, Yerevan

1999 National Art Gallery, Yerevan

2007 I colori dell’Armenia, Rome

2009 Artists’ Union of Armenia, Yerevan

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Tigran Matulyan terms his style ‘symbolic pattern abstractionism’ which is based on myth-like fairy tale thinking. His art draws inspiration from Vardges Surenyants’ oriental patterns and the symbolic paintings of Western Europe and Russia resulting in finished canvases appearing patterned and bright like woven carpets. This analogy is further reflected in how he sees the world as an interweaving of patterns and curves smoothly flowing into one another where, ‘enjoyment starts with the recognition of the construction of this fantasy world’.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 35 12. HAKOB HAKOBYAN (b. 1923) Family

signed and dated (lower right) oil on canvas 39¡ x 25¬ in. (100 x 65 cm.) Painted in 2003

1923 Born in Alexandria

1952 Recipient of the Egypt community scholarship

Solo exhibitions (selection)

Early exhibitions held in Gyumri, Vanadzor and Yerevan

International exhibitions held in Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Italy, France, USA, Finland, Lebanon, Cyprus and Egypt

Group exhibitions (selection)

2002 3rd International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Gyumri

Currently lives and works in Armenia.

Hakob Hakobyan is one of the leading masters of later 20th century art having been awarded both the honorary title of People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR and the State Prize of Armenia. His art links closely with Baroque era illusion painting and centres upon objects that come into touch with humans, how they are used and worn by us, simultaneously absorbing our energies and stories. These objects attain certain similarities to humans and tell of our pain, powerlessness and sadness of our existence. Everything that exists in the world without exception, is given to us to be used, not forgetting that we also use ourselves as tools and from this relationship comes the ability of objects to tell the truth about us as explored by the artist.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 37 13. NAREK AVETISSIAN (b. 1969) Untitled

signed and dated (lower left), further signed and inscribed (reverse) acrylic on canvas, unframed 47º x 55¿ in. (120 x 140 cm.) Painted in 2009

1969 Born in Yerevan

1988 Graduated from Yerevan Panos Terlemezyan Fine Arts College

1988- Studied at Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts 1992 of Yerevan

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1992 ACHROME performance, Gallery NN, Lublin

1999 Earth-Dream-Space, Armenian Pavilion, 48th Venice Biennale

2006 Spaces of Light and Trace, ACCEA, Yerevan

2009 Coming back, City Hall, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

2004 Audiovision, a collaborative project with techno-musicians, ACCEA, Yerevan

2003 Getting closer, Ifa Gallery, Berlin

2001 Utopiana Armenian-Swiss exhibition, Hay-art cultural centre, Yerevan

1995 Yerevan-Moscow Central House of Artists, Moscow

Currently living and working in Yerevan.

For Narek Avetissian numeric print is a sub-image of a new artistic layer. One of the pioneers of computer art in Armenia, he created a line of works picturing fractals, whereby their mathematical schemes were interpreted into models of new art. This whole concept centres upon portraying the world in the language of mathematics through indirect perceptions and these fractals are then used to turn the canvas into impressive gestures and synergies combining oil paints and metals, which add a new element of meaning. For the artist, these metals and minerals are the ‘treasures of the soil hidden like human mysticism’, imbued with power that is both nourishing and deadly.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 39 14. SAM GRIGORIAN (b. 1957) Untitled

signed, inscribed and dated (reverse)

décollage 44¿ x 71Ω in. (112 x 182 cm.) Created in 2007

1957 Born in Yerevan, Armenia

1977 Graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Arts

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1995 Art has no home, Galerie im Altes Rathaus, Potsdam

2004 Gallery Hohengasse 5, Burgdorf

2008 Kunst & Co, Flensburg

2009 Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne

Group exhibitions (selection)

1988 Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan

1996 Gallery Georg Nothelfer, Berlin

2005 Armenian Journey, Highway Gallery, Melbourne

2010 Gala Exhibition, Armenian Abstract Artists, Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan

Currently lives and works in Berlin.

The history and context of paper makes it a very personal medium for the artist Sam Grigorian. Varied in size, each décollage is the result of a time-intensive process involving paper manipulation; soaking, scratching, crumbling and cutting, each symbolic sheet chosen for the meaning it carries which is revealed to us in the finished work. Drawing upon artists such as Jean Arp (Hans Arp) who experimented with the ideas of chance and coincidence in his own collages, Sam explores these concepts in his works terming it ‘calculated coincidences’, where layers of paper, when worked upon reveal a surprise or revelation. When viewing his pieces, we are invited to question the seemingly geometric and calculated arrangement whilst simultaneously making sense of the random fragments and spaces interspersed between each layer, allowing each work a unique interpretation.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 41 15. ARMAN GRIGORYAN (b. 1960) Constructivist exterior

signed and dated (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse)

oil on canvas, unframed 43º x 57¿ in. (110 x 145 cm.) Painted in 2010

1960 Born in Yerevan

1985 Graduated from the Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts

1987 Founded the 3rd Floor art group

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1991 LCent Gallery, Paris

1997 Bad Religion, Charlie Khachatrian Gallery, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

2006 Armenian International Style, Akanat Art Gallery, Yerevan

2007 Arménie contemporaine: une actualité de l’art video, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art

2008 6th International Biennial, Gyumri

2010 Body: New Figurative Art in Armenia, Painter’s House, Yerevan

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

The non-conformist art of Arman Grigoryan was shaped in the final years of the Soviet empire, bearing the powerful energy of that era. Following the rules of pop art imaging, the artist juxtaposes the clash of urban landscape with symbols of Soviet propaganda and the capitalist global market. This makes his canvases expressions reminiscent of political placards or posters. Rejecting both Soviet totalitarianism and the demands of capitalist consumerism, he searches for symbolic images in pop art that express ideas of freedom of the body and anarchism.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 43 16. KARINE MATSAKYAN (b. 1959) Complicated

signed and dated (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 61¡ x 44√ in. (156 x 114 cm.) Painted in 2005

1959 Born in Gyumri

1985 Graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1997 Charlie Khachatrian Gallery, Yerevan

2001 Kultur Kontakt, Vienna

2001 Leube Kunst Project, Salzburg

Group exhibitions (selection)

1987 3-ed flour, House of Artists, Yerevan

2001 49th Venice Biennale

2003 Getting Closer, Ifa Gallery, Berlin

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

In Soviet Armenia, pop art was a sign of non-conformism, an indication that the artist was a supporter of the liberties enjoyed by the bourgeoisie. However, as Karine Matsakyan notes, ‘We got rid of the Soviet Union, but we did not have progress. As such, the desire for liberation remains.’ By consistently referring to pop art, she seeks to re-establish the liberal utopia of the 1980s enabling the pop art manner to be viewed as a symbol of optimism whereby in Complicated, an advertisement for an orange takes the place of a shining sun suggesting hope within society. However, other components in the composition such as the drill inject ambiguity into the narrative as it aims directly towards the orange’s centre, implying a force of destruction within the consumerist heaven, ultimately creating uncertainty.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 45 17. ALBERT VARDANYAN (b. 1954) Totem with jewellery

signed, dated and stamped with artist’s monogram (underneath) bronze 12º in. (31 cm.) high Cast in 2008

1954 Born in Gyumri

1979 Graduated from the Yerevan College of Arts

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2006 Christuskirche, Bochum-Linden

Group exhibitions (selection)

1998 First International Biennial, Gyumri

2001 Dante in Armenia, Centro Dantesco, Ravenna

2001 Beyond Icons, Contemporary Art Gallery, Yerevan

2004 Artisten for Kinderen, Fortis Bank, Kortrijk

2005 Lost Landscapes, Lost Visions, Lew Kopelew Forum, Cologne

2005 Collectors and Le Vernissage, Carmel

2006 Exhibition in Fresno

Currently lives and works in Gyumri.

Albert Vardanyan uses art to study familiar concepts such as peace, hope, war and pain, interpreting these through symbols of his native land, drawing upon deeply personal connections with his well-known sculpture Pulsar, a symbol of peace against violence standing outside a church in Bochum-Linden, Germany. Totems is the title of a series of sculptures, which explores the connection between man and nature where in certain societies the chosen totemic animal remains powerful and protected. The ties placed on the totems symbolise the contract of mutuality between man and nature and their promise not to harm one another. These opposing yet balanced forces are manifested in this sculpture, where its density and size is counterbalanced by the dynamic angles, giving a sense of enduring grace and stability.

46 Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love

CORRECT IMAGE??

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 47 18. ARTHUR SARKISSIAN (B. 1960) Image stripes

signed (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 43º x 55¿ in. (110 x 140 cm.) Painted in 2011

1960 Born in Gyumri

1977 Graduated from School of Fine Arts, Gyumri

1989 Graduated from the Pedagogical Institute, Department of Drawings, Yerevan

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1994 Bossen Cultural Centre, Saarbrücken

1998 JNR Gallery, Yerevan

2006 First Floor Gallery, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

1992 Contemporary Armenian Artists, Gallery Vision, Kassel

1997 Dreams & Visions, Art Benefit, Chicago

2005 Photo Plus, ACCEA, Yerevan

2011 Art Cube Gallery, Laguna Beach

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Looking at one of Arthur Sarkissian’s canvases is viewing an artwork that connects the past with the present. Several components often composed of mixed media come together to create a visually rich image with embedded prints of old photographs, letters and pictures within a vivid, bright colour palette. These parts are individually selected for their cultural and historical meaning which, when seen juxtaposed to one another allow the viewer a glimpse into the past within the wider context of post-soviet freedom.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 49 19. HAMLET HOVSEPIAN (b. 1950) Picture j-35

signed and dated (lower right), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 67Ω x 67Ω in. (171.5 x 171.5 cm.) Painted in 1998

1950 Born in Ashnak

1974 Graduated from the Yerevan Panos Terlemezyan Fine Arts College

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1986 Teacher’s Home, Yerevan

1997 Charlie Khachatrian Gallery, Yerevan

2005 Return, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

1986- 16/16, Modern Art Gallery, Yerevan 1988

1992 Grand Palais, Paris

2000 Collapse of Illusion, ACCEA, Yerevan

2001 49th Venice Biennale

Currently lives and works in Ashnak.

Hamlet Hovsepian finds inspiration from the surrounding land and nature where he lives. In his performances and video art he researches the spiritual similarities of the human body and the ancient layers of the soil whereby both have the power to nourish and destroy, resulting in canvases that reflect a new form of abstract expressionism. The use of metals; aluminium, gold and bronze together with oil paint in his art reflect his belief of the importance of nature since metals and minerals are the ‘wealth of the Earth’, buried deep within it.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 51 20. TENI VARDANYAN (b. 1957) Naturmort (still life) and don’t know who

signed and dated (lower right), inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 39Ω x 33Ω in. (100.3 x 85 cm.) Painted in 2009

1957 Born in Yerevan

1982 Graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts

1986 Member of the Artists’ Union of Armenia

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2002 First Floor Gallery, Yerevan

2004 Red Gallery, Vermont Studio Centre, Johnson

2006 Gabone Gallery, Yerevan

2007 Ahmed Shawki Museum, Cairo

Group exhibitions (selection)

1996 Group Exhibition, Alex Manoogian Museum, Detroit

2001 Women’s International Art Exhibition, Aleppo

2007 L’art Contemporain d’Arménie, Paris

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Teni Vardanyan often portrays creatures lacking a skeletal structure, their form enhancing their solitude and lack of support. These figures are questionably human perhaps providing a commentary on our own social existence and in Naturmort (still life) and don’t know who the hunched figure although lacking a backbone, portrays a hand and human facial features. Stooped over fruit and a group of upright figures it plucks a berry from the plate below, creating a connection between the two scenes. The bold colours yet delicate interplay of differing layers gives a sense of transparency and spirituality heightened further by the appearance of an angel on the hunched figure itself, reflecting what the artist terms ‘pleads coming from the unconsciousness.’

52 Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love

Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 53 21. AIGANA GALI (b. 1980) KATYA SHKOLNIK (B. 1972) St. Sarkis Armenian Church triptych

signed and dated (lower right, no. 3), inscribed (reverse, no. 1) mixed media on canvas 18 x 12 in. (46 x 30.5 cm.) (3) Created in 2011

1980 Born in Almaty 1972 Born in Moscow

2005 Graduated from the Kazakh Leading Academy 1995 Graduated from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Almaty 1999 Graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of 2007 Graduated from the Academy of Science of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Moscow the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty 2008 Graduated from ITAR-TASS Photo Agency Photo School, Solo Exhibitions Moscow

2004 The Alma-Ata Art Gallery, Almaty Solo exhibitions

2005 Ark Art Gallery, Almaty 2009 Shazina Gallery, Moscow

2006 Zig-Zag Art Gallery, Almaty 2010 The Council of Federation, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Moscow Alma-Ata Art-Gallery, Almaty 2007 A. Kasteev State Museum of Arts, Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty

2009 OYU Art Gallery, Almaty

2010 The Westbury Hotel Gallery, London

2011 The Hay Hill Gallery, London

Currently lives and works in London. Currently lives and works in Toronto.

Aigana Gali grew up in Kazakhstan where at the Kazakh State Fine Art Katya Shkolnik’s inspirations are gathered from her many expeditions to and Architecture Academy, she graduated in Fine Art before continuing locations such as Africa, America and Japan and her evocative photographs her studies at the Kazakh Academy of Science. She is also a professional are sought after by clients in Europe and America as well as designers from ballerina, having attended the ballet Profi-Studio in Almaty and has Russia, Kazakhstan and Italy. Capturing both the ordinary and extraordinary worked as an artistic director with featured roles in Kazakh films. Inspired she adds her own voice to each photograph paving the way for images that by Christian iconography and the depiction of figures within religion, her appear effortless yet compelling. Her works of abstract architecture and works reflect spirituality and question the nature of God within us. wildlife have been published including Out of Africa, art calendar (2009), To Africa, art calendar (2010), Colours of Jazz (2010) and Transforming Reality – Photos as Painting, art calendar (2011).

54 Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love

Aigana Gali and Katya Shkolnik have developed a unique technique that combines photography layered with pastel, oil and acrylic paint to produce intriguing works of art. 1

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 57 22. MARINA DILANYAN (b. 1957) Love potion

signed and dated (lower left), further signed and inscribed (reverse) oil on canvas, unframed 43º x 78Æ in. (110 x 200 cm.) Painted in 2010

1957 Born in Yerevan

1982 Graduated from the Yerevan Institute of Art

Solo exhibitions (selection)

1990 Jeanne Gallery, Munich

1993 Schwabenhaus Gallery, Munich

1997 Gallery Ildiko Risse, Wessling

2009 Museum of Contemporary Art, Yerevan

Group exhibitions (selection)

1997 Exhibition of the 5th, Museum of Contemporary Art, Yerevan

1999 Armenian artists at the threshold of the 21st century, Yerevan

2001 Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran

2010 Internation Exhibition of Modern Art, Castel dell’Ovo, Naples

Currently lives and works in Yerevan.

Marina Dilanyan seeks to imprint the internal life of a human being through her expressionist works with textured lines, mutilated and distorted body shapes. The surface marks of her canvases are designed and manipulated so that the external reality becomes lost and as a result the viewer is emotionally enriched. For the artist, perception and comprehension of the inner order of things leads back to their prime essence with the belief that every painting can create an inwardly free person.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 59 23. ARARAT BRANDY aged 70 years

with signed certificate

Exclusive Collection especially for Yerevan My Love

The name Ararat comes from the famous mountain where it is believed Noah’s Ark landed after the biblical flood. A symbol of Armenian culture and identity, it is also the location of one of the world’s oldest vineyards.

The signed certificate by the Cellar Master Philippe Thibaud, describes this exclusive blend as having aromas of espresso bean, brown chocolate, candied fruits and a hint of caramel.

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 61 The artist should never be afraid of competency. Everybody in the world of art occupies his own place and nobody can ‘‘repeat the other just in the same way. ARARAT SARKISSIAN (b. 1956)’’ The characters on my paintings are in communities as well, but each of them decides for himself the way he wants to be, what community to choose and underlines ‘‘his individuality upon his own choice ARMAN GRIGORYAN (b. 1960)’’ The value of art, I think, is in the ability to draw the invisible ‘‘KIKI (GRIGOR) MIKAELYAN (b.’’ 1956) I wouldn’t leave home, if I had my way. I would stay in this room and paint my signs, my flourishes, my thoughts and those faces that come to sink deeply in one’s soul ‘‘and want to become your alter ego, your voice and your eyesight TENI VARDANYAN’’ (b. 1957) And then... there was photography, a passion that has made all previous success and achievements fade into nonsense, with ‘‘life itself split into Before and After KATYA SHKOLNIK (b. 1972)

62 Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love ’’

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Charity Auction of Contemporary Armenian Art in aid of Yerevan My Love 65 MARTIROS SARYAN (1880–1972) A corner in a peach garden oil on canvas · 21Ω x 25Æ in. (54.6 x 65.5 cm.) £300,000 – 400,000

Russian Art

London • 28 November 2011

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