LIVE AUCTION

His work has been exhibited worldwide; he has represented Armenia in numerous international art exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale. As Ararat says: “I have always believed that a crossstone is a living thing. I went on to painstakingly recreate cross-stones that were razed to the ground in Nakhichevan, attempting to give these vanished monuments a new lease on life through paint and hand-made paper.”

Ararat Sarkissian is a well-known artist, recognized as an Honoured Artist of Armenia and known as a recreator of Armenian print-making traditions. Twenty-five years ago, he decided to learn papermaking for one of his projects, and hence went to Jordan to develop his skills. Recognizing that this is a dying craft, he has since passed on his skill to many people, mostly of the younger generation. Using a combination of print-making techniques, recycled paper, painting, and okra, Ararat’s work is suffused with age-old symbols, both worldly and Armenia- specific. He is fascinated with old maps and alphabets but his most famous series is The Cross, reflecting the unique Armenian design of this church symbol. This prolific artist has also produced a large number of hand-made books and catalogues to illustrate his ideas.

Ararat is concerned about the identity and memory of nations and always strives to preserve something of value, such as destroyed Armenian cross-stones. Measurement: