Three Armenian Artists

THREE ARMENIAN ARTISTS goldmark

Armenia has an illustrious history of artistic achievement.

Armenian textiles, books, reliquaries and illuminated manuscripts have provoked wonder and excitement since the fourth century. However, their modern art has also made waves and been no less ground-breaking.

The most celebrated Armenian artist of the 20th century, Arshile Gorky, is seen by many as having laid the foundations for the development of American Abstract Expressionism.

Ashot Yan, Solo Performance, oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm

Catalogue ÂŁ10

THREE ARMENIAN ARTISTS Baykar Demir

goldmark 2019

THREE ARMENIAN ARTISTS Dating back to the fourth century, Armenia has been productive in various artistic fields. While Armenian art has its unique cultural heritage, how it has combined with Western tradition has brought contemporary Armenian artists to distinguished ground.

This combination can be most famously traced in the work pioneered by the most celebrated Armenian artist of the 20th century, Arshile Gorky. To Gorky – a leading name in the development of Abstract Expressionism – can be added Ivan Aivazovsky, the Russian artist of Armenian descent who reached world-wide fame for his seascapes; and two Armenian compatriots, Martiros Saryan and Minas Avetisyan, who were among the most prominent artists to have reflected on their experience of the Soviet Regime and incorporated Western stylisation in their works. While their pictorial language was nourished by the innovative aesthetics of the West, at the core of their artistic expression lay traditional and Soviet Armenian influences. In other words, Armenian artists have been able to create links between past and present, between tradition and innovation, which have carried them far beyond the labels of Modernism. Thanks to this enriched cultural vision, Armenian art has gained an important position in contemporary art as well. Having held numerous international exhibitions, these three contemporary Armenian artists – Tigran Asatryan, Ashot Yan and Arthur Hovhannisyan – present the inimitable style of Armenian art and its blend of histories ancient and current.

Inspired by the imaginative worlds of David Teniers, Frans Francken, Bosch and Bruegel, Ashot Yan’s style echoes the Renaissance with his distinctive understanding of aesthetic and grotesque. His surreally sketched satirical figures lend themselves to multiple interpretations. Subjects dressed in period clothing mischievously refer to the emotional and intellectual conditions of today’s individual, while strange features of Yan’s dream world are used as tools to reach into the socio-psychological sphere.

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Portraits of figures with wise, solemn expressions point to the whimsical portrait tradition of Arcimboldo; despite their dignified looks, they are bejewelled with ornaments worthy only of fools. In these portraits various symbols and motifs appeal to contemporary topics of identity and gender. Faceless characters in quattrocento attire, a portrait of a young man in feminine garb, all highlight the social problems of the modern world. Such contradictory symbolism is performed in perfect harmony, reflecting the hidden sides of human lives. Nevertheless, no matter how widely that symbolism is deployed, Yan’s sophisticated style always distinguishes itself from the margins of traditions by reaching deep into his dream world.

Accompanying the work of Ashot Yan is Arthur Hovhannisyan, another acclaimed artist to be presented in this exhibition. An Associate Professor at the State Academy of Yerevan in Armenia, Hovhannisyan’s style combines the familiar hallmarks of the classical academic tradition along with those of modernist movements. Among the most remarkable aspects of his work is his striking use of colour, both in harmony and contrast. Thanks to Chevreul, the French chemist who revolutionised colour theory in the 19th century, the technique of bringing two distinct colours side by side to strengthen the impact of each has long been employed since the mid-1800s.

Hovhannisyan applies this approach in forms that range from traditional motifs to daily life experiences. But what is most interesting is how he maintains the structural unity of his large figures. There emerges in the thick use of colour a kind of optical ‘objectivity’, where the raised layers of paint lend his subjects a ‘real’ presence. This sense of reality is united with a spiritual aspect promoted in his figures’ facial expressions. The dichotomy between psychological chaos and serenity is expressed in such outstanding works presenting young floral girls with mysterious gazes, or the thoughtful musings of a man sitting in the barber’s shop. Being able to create these deep, psychological reflections with only colour and brush, Hovhannisyan makes his craft seem like magic.

To understand what kind of spirit Tigran Asatryan brings to this exhibition, one cannot disregard his educational background. The early years of Asatryan’s long career coincided with the rule of the Soviet Regime in Armenia. As an art academy

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student, he witnessed the decline of the Soviet Union and Armenia’s declaration of full independence. Such political events deeply affected the art of those artists around him, and they have contributed much to the development of Asatryan’s own expression. In spite of carrying many of the features of Russian Naturalism, he has not adopted a didactic or picturesque language in his realism. Free brush strokes dance while the deformed figures of his compositions skirt the divide between classical and modern. A significant aspect of Asatryan’s pictorial language is the softness of his colour tones, which evoke the sensation of touch. Surreal narratives are suffused with fairy-tale iconography, the shining elements of Asatryan’s art. Such extraordinary literary subjects range from Biblical references, with angels and lions, to Greek myths, with congresses between satyrs and nymphs. Apart from political and historical influences, an important influence dating back to Asatryan’s early career has been working with stage actors. Using actors as models was a major part of Asatryan’s academic education. His work Magical Concert is one of the very best examples of this approach, with its theatrical characters set almost as if on a stage. Asatryan’s sophistication in handling his many influences has produced an artistic style that achieves a unique understanding of art history, and one that has gone well beyond the bounds of tradition.

Sharing the same cultural background, all three Armenian artists in this exhibition present the fruits of their imaginative world by creating close links between the old and the new, with great respect to the past and enthusiasm in their discoveries.

How they have preserved the classical tradition with their contemporary outlooks in today’s art market is remarkable. And while this text offers a short glance at the artistic style of these painters in general, there is much more to discover. ‘Three Armenian Painters’ at the Goldmark Gallery promises an exciting journey into the authentic world of the contemporary Armenian art.

Baykar Demir

Visit goldmarkart.com or phone 01572 821424

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TIGRAN ASATRYAN

Tigran Asatryan was born in 1968 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. After studying in a Russian school, N:28 between 1977-1981, he continued his education in Hakop Kojoyan High School of Arts. He studied between 1982 and 1986 at Panos Terlemezyan School of Arts and received his MA degree from the Academy of the Fine Arts. His works can be found in public collections including the Modern Arts Museum of Armenia and in international private collections in USA, Lebanon, Egypt, Russia, Turkey, and Qatar.

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Clown Blowing Bubbles, oil on canvas, 70 x 65 cm

Woman Clown, oil on canvas, 58 x 41 cm

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Illusionist, oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm

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Portrait of an Old Woman, oil on canvas, 63 x 68 cm

Dialogue, oil on canvas, 98 x 58 cm next page: Magical

Concert, oil on canvas, 90 x 125 cm

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Date, oil on canvas, 35 x 35 cm

Woman with Chameleon, oil on canvas, 67 x 80 cm

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ASHOT YAN

Ashot Yan (Grigoryan) was born in 1983 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. He graduated from Hakop Kojoyan High School of Arts in 2000. During his high school years, he used to run away from school to local museums, where he spent time copying the classics. He received his MA degree in Painting from Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts in 2006. Between 2008 and 2011 Yan worked as an instructor at Maluntians Art School and illustrated more than 15 books. Since leaving his teaching post he now works full time as a painter. His work can be found in public collections including Imoga Art Museum in Turkey and in international private collections in Italy, France, USA, Russia, Lebanon, and Malta.

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The Shoemaker, oil on canvas, 26 x 36 cm

The Winner, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm

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The Red Portrait, oil on canvas, 45 x 45 cm

Portrait of the Mrs Jonathan, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm

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The Egg Seller, oil on canvas, 70 x 70 cm Thoughts, oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm

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Poet and Muse, oil on canvas, 65 x 65 cm

The Woman with Red Headdress, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm

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ARTHUR HOVHANNISYAN

Arthur Hovhannisyan was born in 1984 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. He graduated from Terlemezyan State College of Fine Arts in Yerevan and received his MA in 2007 from Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts, where he also received his PhD. During his PhD, he worked as a lecturer in the Academy’s painting department. In 2006 he was awarded with the Laureate of State Prize of the President of the Republic of Armenia. His works can be found in various collections including the Museum of San Lazzaro degli Armeni (Italy) and private collections in France, Russia, USA, UK, Turkey, Georgia, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, and Singapore.

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Young Flower Seller, oil on canvas, 85 x 70 cm

Sellers of White Flowers, oil on canvas, 85 x 70 cm

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Flower Seller, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm

Duet, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm

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Fishmonger, oil on canvas, 100 x 48 cm

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Seller of Sweet Cakes, oil on canvas, 100 x 55 cm

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Butcher, oil on canvas, 90 x 70 cm

Barbers, oil on canvas, 85 x 70 cm

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Bagpiper, oil on canvas, 85 x 70 cm

Armenian art at Goldmark has been curated by Baykar Demir, Istanbul based Armenian art historian and curator, who adds, ‘Tigran Asatryan, Arthur Hovhannisyan and Ashot Yan are each unique artists in their own right and their styles range from the sophisticated to the naturalistic, from portraiture to fairy-like iconography with influences of the Renaissance, Surrealism, Mythology and Russia.

However each is rooted in the very individual cultural heritage of Armenia and British visitors to Goldmark are guaranteed a long overdue insight into that culture and the passion that drives modern Armenian art.'

back cover:

Arthur Hovhannisyan, Choir Garouna, oil on canvas, 97 x 63 cm

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