HAGOP HAGOPIAN THE SONG OF EARTHEN COLORS
Cafesjian Center for the Arts Yerevan, Armenia 2011
This catalog is published on the occasion of the exhibition Hagop Hagopian: The Song of Earthen Colors. Š 2011, Cafesjian Center for the Arts. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Catalog text: Shahen Khachatryan, art critic, awarded the Armenian title of Honored Art Worker Translator: Qristine Karapetyan Photography: All photographs of the artist appear courtesy of the archives of Hagop Hagopian. Photos of the works of art: Copyright by the Cafesjian Center for the Arts Photographer: Sargis Adamyan Cover design: Aram Shahinyan Design and layout: Renata S. Printed in Armenia by Printinfo
Cover: Serenity 1970 Oil on canvas 141 x 93 cm Artist’s collection
HAGOP HAGOPIAN The Song of Earthen Colors
CAFESJIAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Acknowledgements
Vahagn Marabyan
Acting Executive Director,
Cafesjian Center for the Arts
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Artist’s Statement
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The Song of Earthen Colors
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Shahen Khachatryan,
art critic, awarded the Armenian title of Honored Art Worker
Quotes about the Artist
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Works in the Exhibition
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Biographical Outline
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Solo Exhibitions
66
Group Exhibitions
68
Collections
70
Honors and Awards
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Acknowledgements
A
s part of its mission to present the prominent tendencies of contemporary art in Armenia and to offer the best of Armenian culture to the world, the Cafesjian Center for the Arts is pleased to present the exhibition HAGOP HAGOPIAN: The Song of Earthen Colors. The paintings and sculptures included in the exhibition enable the viewer to gain a comprehensive insight into the limitless creativity of the artist. I extend my sincere gratitude to all those, whose dedication and determined efforts made the opening of The Song of Earthen Colors exhibition at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts a reality on May 14, 2011. We are grateful to Mr. Gerard L. Cafesjian, the founder of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, whose vision and endless inspiration have become the guiding light for many people, both in Armenia and the Diaspora. I would also like to thank the author of the catalogue text, art critic, and recipient of the Armenian title of Honored Art Worker, Shahen Khachatryan, for assisting with the exhibition. At the same time, I extend my congratulations and sincere gratitude to the staff of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts for their dedication to the Cafesjian legacy, their efforts in organizing the exhibition and preparing the catalogue; Programming Director, Astghik Marabyan; PR and Marketing Director, Anna Simonyan; Museum Registrar and Head of the Exhibition Department, Yesayi Karamyan; Education Coordinator, Mane Mkrtchyan; Conservator and Installation Specialist, Davit Paradyan; Art Handlers and Preparators, Stepan Hayrapetyan and Igor Avagyan; Museum Carpenter, Aram Poghosyan; PR and Marketing Coordinator, Anna Karagulyan; Assistant to the Programming Director, Shushan Paremuzyan; Manager of the Special Events Auditorium, Hrach Grigoryan; Director of the Museum Store and Visitor Center, Kristine Gulkanyan; Acting Director of Services, Hakob Hakobyan; Network Administrator, Hovhannes Karapetyan; Office Manager, Inga Aselesyan; Assistant to the Director, Adis Abrahamyan; and the Security Manager, Arman Davtyan. And last, but not least, I would like to thank Hagop Hagopian, whose work is presented in this exhibition. The Song of Earthen Colors exhibition is a tribute to the artist, who is about to celebrate his 88th birthday, an artist, whose legacy has an established place in the history of modern art. Vahagn Marabyan Acting Executive Director, Cafesjian Center for the Arts
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Artist’s Statement
Hagop Hagopian in his studio, Yerevan, 1976
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE ARCHIVES OF HAGOP HAGOPIAN
I
had always been conscious of my spiritual links with Armenia, and I had always wanted to make them tangible, to settle in Armenia so as to be in close contact with my country and her people. The real purpose for my trip to Paris in 1952 was to go to Armenia from there. But in those years, I failed to make my dream come true. Immediately after my repatriation, ten years later, I became aware that the landscape was the pictorial medium through which my rapport with my native soil would be most adequately conveyed. The more familiar the Armenian landscape became to me, the more willingly I yielded to its vital and mysterious power. Armenia is a land of mountains, and wherever I looked I saw ranges, steep slopes, high rocks and deep canyons – in short, all the broken lines which were for me a visual metaphor of energetic, restless people, full of the joy of life. Sarian was such a person, and his temperament seemed to personify the very soul of the nature of Armenia. Minas Avetisyan was another, and he was unique in his vision of the native land. I see both these artists as an epitome of true spirit and character. As for me, at first I found it difficult to adjust my own character to the Armenian landscape. I began to look for scenes which were more akin to my temperament, and I arranged my compositions on the basis of alternating horizontal and vertical lines – a scheme which seemed to agree with my soul, revealed my emotions and my inner self. My emotions are vested in everything I have created. It is to my greatest surprise and utmost honor to have my works exhibited at the Gerard L. Cafesjian Center for the Arts. I express my deep gratitude to the founder of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Mr. Gerard L. Cafesjian; the Acting Executive Director, Vahagn Marabyan; the CCA staff as well as Mr. Shahen Khachatryan, who assisted in the organization of the exhibition.
Hagop Hagopian
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The Song of Earthen Colors
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work of art is the reflection of an artist’s soul. It can make people happy, it can also make them sad. Regardless of the feelings that a piece of art may evoke, it should be alive with emotion and in harmony with a zeitgeist. For a true artist, inspiration always comes from experience, his or her native land and its people. Artists may be quite different in their ideas and styles, but deep inside, at the very basic level, they are in tune with each other. The 20th century gave us a splendid constellation of such artists both in the Armenian Diaspora and the Armenian Motherland. Hagop Hagopian is one of the brightest stars in this constellation. Born in Egypt and educated in Paris, Hagopian settled in Armenia at the age of 40. Of the first generation Armenians born after the Genocide, he came to Armenia as a mature artist with a distinctive style. The feelings engendered by a fatherless youth, to whom the hardships of life were not unknown, guided his career and compelled him to create images of men thrown into the maelstrom of life: miserable, anguished and helpless in the face of destiny. This is how Armenia first saw Hagopian. Sorrow 1961 Oil on canvas 114 x 53 cm National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan
...A man is sitting on a chair, his head against the palm of his hand (Sorrow, 1961). At first glance his head seems severed from the shoulders. It takes much contemplation to see that, indeed, thinking does not always help a man find a way out of distress. Hagopian’s profoundly poignant color schemes are the echo of the Genocide that still haunts the artist and other members of his generation, the sad song of a man deprived of a motherland. One painting by Hagopian, however, is permeated with a different emotion. The image of a man kneeling in the middle of a desert, with his palms tenderly folded around a fragile sprout (The Man and the Plant, 1962), is
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The Man and the Plant 1962 Oil on canvas 104 x 70 cm Artist’s collection, Yerevan
the epitome of Hagopian’s Diasporan state of mind, the behest of eternal hope. The path of this hope leads towards the Motherland – Soviet Armenia. It is no surprise that one year before his repatriation, in 1961, Hagopian donated his best works to the National Gallery of Armenia. Their distinctive style, original rendering and superb artistry were duly appreciated, and the paintings became a part of the National Gallery’s permanent collection. Minas Avetisyan wrote about them: “Hagopian brought to Armenia something unique that was his and his only. He has his own view of the world. His art is as Armenian as he is Armenian.”
*** The tide of enthusiasm for art that rose in Soviet Armenia in the 1920’s eventually subsided. Artists were deprived of their liberty. Everything that was deep and true was fettered, while everything that was superficial and artificial became an imposed norm. The atmosphere of violence, fear and deception could not last for long. Sooner or later the true face of the Soviet regime had to be divulged, and the surging discontent had to find its way out. But the questions were: when and how would it happen? Looking at our past one cannot help wondering how aptly providence had set the time for Hagopian’s arrival in Armenia. Knowing the 40-year old artist and his previous experience, we were concerned: what will he paint now, the
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miserable and the meek again? To everyone’s surprise and delight, he was quick to understand the new reality and find the logical path forward. A resident of Leninakan for five years, he worked as a dye mixer at a weaving factory, and on weekends hurried to Yerevan to meet his close friends and to mingle in the city’s cultural milieu. Through the windows of a car speeding along a mountain road, he scanned the deserted, arid, stony landscape, penetrating the veneer of still and seemingly uninteresting terrain. Soon a series of strange and original Armenian landscapes followed. Unlike his previous paintings, in these works he gave way to nature, and transformed flat static surfaces into vast open space. He painted lonely trees and bushes against the backdrop of gloomy skies and electric poles, squirming vine-stocks heavy with restlessness and tension. The silver-gray color schemes and compositions of Hagopian’s late fall or early spring paintings convey mystic silence and are charged with deep emotion and grave reflection. At the same time, gentle strokes that are used to paint the soft light, the soil, the water, the stones and the animals speak of Hagopian’s tender affection for his Motherland. They seem to be singing a
My Studio 1988 Oil on canvas 97 x 130 cm Artist’s collection, Yerevan
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soft tune, soothing the painful loss of something very precious and dear. This tune is the voice of the artist raised against evil, his profound humanism and yearning to see the land of mankind perfect and pure. Along with simple landscapes offering a fresh image of his native land, Hagopian paints in other genres. In his style, the simplest objects like pincers, gloves, mannequins, baskets and dry flowers tell a story of human relations, love and struggle, life and death; they reflect the artist’s troubled soul and his candid protest against the stifling air of the period. They liberate the viewer’s imagination and engage him in a dialogue full of drama and contemplation. Hagopian’s style is modern and reflects the aspirations and ideals of the 1960s. Back then, the air was charged with the anticipation of renewal. Minas’s paintings erupted with vibrant and striking colors; Hagopian’s color schemes conveyed his inner drama and need for deep philosophical reflection. The Armenian artists of the 1960s remained faithful to their traditions and embarked upon their journey towards a new, more truthful and candid art.
*** Eventually, Hagopian’s open and humanistic art found acclaim outside of Armenia. He was invited to exhibit his work in Moscow, Leningrad, Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Kiev, Odessa, Lvov, Rostov, Tbilisi, Almaty, as well as in countries outside the former Soviet Union. He received the title of the People’s Artist of Armenia and USSR State Award and was elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of the Russian Federation. Faithful to Charents’s dictum - “Be the champion of your time and be true to your voice,” Hagopian saw the way forward and moved along, ever faithful to his convictions and feelings. One of the first champions of a more austere style of painting and the herald of pure art, he had a great influence on Soviet and post-Soviet art. In a catalog of the first exhibition of visual art of CIS countries held in Moscow in 2005, the president of the Confederation of Artists’ Unions, V. Sidorov, wrote: “The art of internationally acclaimed Hagop Hagopian once more reveals the wisdom and beauty of Armenia”. Hagopian’s recent exhibitions in Marseilles and Los Angeles were extremely successful. Forty old and new paintings selected by the management of America’s Folk Art Museum (in the framework of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Program) were exhibited under the title of “Armenian Vistas.” The Los Angeles Times art critic Peter Frank wrote: “Hagopian’s ... decision
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to eschew Social Realist bombast for brittle, tender renditions of the local countryside... endeared him to his countrymen. Hagopian’s renditions of Mount Ararat... are aloof and contemplative. He prefers to invest his passion in the most unassuming things, whether gnarled, barren trees, the roofs and sides of buildings, or stones by the side of the road.” One is proud to realize that Hagopian’s tender love towards his world, towards our world is comprehended - internationally. I would like to finish this essay with the following memory. On the evening of September 10, 1971, I showed one of Hagopian’s watercolors to Sarian. He looked at it for a while and said: “This artist has a very sensitive soul. See, he painted his clouds somewhat dry to link them with the vine-stocks. It is fall, and this tree is an apricot tree, he painted it in such a way that we understand that it is guarding the orchard. This artist knows nature and communicates with it. Good for him, he’s doing a great job...” Hagopian continues his “great job” just like he started it, with the same vigor and emotion. His recent book entitled “My Soul Wept and Rejoiced,” written with the honest passion of a true artist, was a pleasant and amazingly relevant surprise. Young at heart, the artist continues to be in the vanguard of
In Martiros Saryan’s studio, 1962, Yerevan
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE ARCHIVES OF HAGOP HAGOPIAN
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his country’s faithful sons. As a token of sincere appreciation, in May this year Hagopian’s exhibition is opened at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts – just a few weeks before his 88th birthday. It was the artist’s wish to present in the exhibition not only his older works, already known to the public, but also his most recent creations that the artist places within the “Garden of Love” series. Works in the “Garden of Love” series are conceptually innovative and distinctive. The realm of love, as interpreted by Hagopian, embraces humanity’s ancient past, melded with contemporary society’s changing sense of values, ethics and emotions. Here, the past is symbolized by the sculpture of ancient Greece, surrounded by birds, delicate mannequins and a variety of metal tools endowed with human attributes. These “animated” tools are also shown as individual sculptures in the exhibition. The carefully conceived composition of all these elements brings a sense of quiet unity to the gardenlike setting of Hagopian’s landscape. Contemplating the world from the perspective of distance, the artist has imbued these works with meaning and poetry. The expressive relationships inherent in the content of these works reveal the element of time and the narrative of life in progress. Hagopian’s distinctive visual grammar creates a unique language that continues to resonate with the power to communicate the artist’s vision.
Shahen Khachatryan art critic, awarded the Armenian title of Honored Art Worker
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Quotes about the Artist
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gypt’s emerging school of painting should be proud of a talented artist like Hagop Hagopian. He is an independent artist in true sense of the word. He realized very early that perfect technique has a meaning only when and if it is used to express the soul of the artist... What kind of a person is Hagop Hagopian? First of all, he is an Armenian; for him the sense of justice always intermingles with sadness [over the understanding that such justice can never be attained]. He was often criticized for being broody; by the same token, he could be reprimanded for being... human. Hagopian’s sound and almost three-dimensional brush-strokes convey his unique view of objects. For him, the line of the horizon is the line that connects the present with eternity... How much of a realist is Hagopian? Where does he belong in the modern artistic milieu? His realism is introspective and his paintings of nature are charged with inner drama... A. Azar, art critic “Modern Egyptian Painting”, Cairo, 1961
H
agopian’s images of Armenia, with all their artistic generalizations, are so much like the real thing that we, since we are used to looking at them through his eyes, see Armenia the way he does. In his landscapes he has achieved a perfect clarity of the idea and an ideal perfection of the form. After a long search, he has found his own and truly unique vision of Armenian nature. He proved that every true artist has an Armenia of his own; without the achievements of his colleagues, he expands the boundaries of national art and renders it from a new and contemporary perspective. Every true artist paints one painting all his life, and an artist is as complete as his one painting. We know and love Hagopian as an accomplished artist, with his painting complete. H. Igityan, art critic Founder of Modern Art Museum of Armenia “Sovietskoye Iskusstvo”, 1969, No. 11 CAFESJIAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
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E
ach of Hagop Hagopian’s paintings, without exception, is a small, selfcontained space, apparently separate and independent from that of the real world. It is not as much a geometrical or physical space, as a spiritual one. Its pictorial content is to a great extent autonomous and its psychological depth is enormous. ...Hagopian’s Armenia is silent and deserted. There is little color, and nothing conceals the craggy ridges of its crystalline rocks and mountains. But this view of Armenia is by no means in conflict with another one, through which the Armenian landscape emerges full of sunlight and color. Representing different sides of a single concept, they complement and highlight each other. A.Kamensky, art critic “Communist”, Moscow, September 21, 1975
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agopian avoids overstatements and garish colors; instead, he uses deliberately understated hues to convey a message that is clear to the point of perfection; the message, which comes straight from his heart, is about the utmost value of the human soul and is addressed to the universe. This humanism in action makes Hagopian a truly modern artist. G. Ostrovsky, art critic “Vilna Ukraina”, Lvov, Ukraine, Nov. 13, 1977
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n Hagopian’s paintings, objects and settings have effervescent and sharp shapes, sometimes even without shadows. This leaves an impression of infinity... The artist’s precise, almost graphic style is really fascinating. Visions of gardens, fences, huts, naked trees are removed from simple narrative rendering and, most importantly, are refined and original. The superb artistry of Hagopian’s paintings is embodied in this style. T. Toomemets, art critic “Komsomolets daily”, Estonia, October 25, 1977
T
here is a kind of paradox in Hagop Hagopian’s art: his transparent hues and clear graphic lines are so perfect that they seem to be unsurpassable. But with each new work, Hagopian proves that there is no limit to perfection. Only a great master can do that! J. Carzou, artist, Member of French Fine Art Academy “Le Monde”, France,1979 22
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very encounter with Hagop’s clever and sensitive art is a feast. You look forward to this feast and then keep returning to it in your mind... that was a real life! Let there be more such intellectually gratifying encounters that we all need so much. O. Schedrin Reference book from a Moscow exhibition, 1979
T
he artist somehow manages to remain serene in this confused world, and at the same time introduces the whole range of emotions of a modern man to the audience. It is like bliss – the music in his paintings is painstakingly accurate and the silence is absolute. It is an eternal and infinitely modern dream! V. Lebedeva, art critic Reference book from a Moscow exhibition, 1979
S
imilar to how we are affected by Chekhov’s steppe, which gradually reveals itself to the reader, we are moved by these unassuming canvases, which are full of love and convey a gamut of subtle emotional shades. Hagopian’s paintings are expressive because their composition is perfectly thought out, and their grayish-yellowish palette is rich in nuances, being at the same time strictly monitored by observation. There are no excessive emotions, and nothing is said too loudly. The laconic reticence and the confidential tone of the message conveyed by the image of the naked earth make it psychologically powerful and visually effective. O. Nikulina, art critic
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Works in the Exhibition
Serenity 1970 Oil on canvas 141 x 93 cm Artist’s collection 26
The Cloud 1974 Oil on canvas 116 x 73 cm Artist’s collection 27
Artavazd Peleshyan 1974 Oil on canvas 116 x 73 cm Artist’s collection 28
The Group 1984 Oil on canvas 97 x 130 cm Artist’s collection 29
Still Life: Flowers and Gloves 1986 Oil on canvas 65 x 92 cm Artist’s collection 30
The Owner 1987 Oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm Artist’s collection 31
Freedom Square 2001 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 32
Mercy 2003 Oil on canvas 100 x 80 cm Artist’s collection 33
Family 2003 Oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm Artist’s collection 34
Viruses 2003 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 35
In the Memory of Hrant Dink 2007 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 36
Still Life with Mannequin and Flowers 2007 Oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm Artist’s collection 37
The Day 2007 Oil on canvas 92 x 60 cm Artist’s collection 38
Family 2008 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 39
The Lovers 2008 Oil on canvas 100 x 73 cm Artist’s collection 40
Three Graces. Love Garden 2010 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 41
Entertainment. Love Garden 2010 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 42
Leda. Love Garden 2010 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 43
Love Garden 2010 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 44
Cleopatra’s Death 2010 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 45
Wrestle. Love Garden 2010 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 46
Love Garden 2011 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 47
Pan. Love Garden 2011 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 48
Family on a Promenade 2011 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 49
Kiss 2011 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 50
Sleep 2011 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm Artist’s collection 51
Conversation. Love Garden 2011 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Artist’s collection 52
Ararat at Sunset 2011 Oil on canvas 98 x 130 cm Artist’s collection 53
Dancer 2008 Plaster cast 230 x 72 x 38 cm Artist’s collection 54
Lovers 2008 Plaster cast 200 x 58 x 50 cm Artist’s collection 55
Dancer 2009 Steel 42 x 12 x 8 cm Artist’s collection 56
Lovers 2009 Steel 24 x 12 x 8 cm Artist’s collection 57
Young Woman 2009 Steel 34 x 10 x 8 cm Artist’s collection 58
Pregnant Woman 2009 Steel 36 x 8 x 8 cm Artist’s collection 59
Expecting a Baby 2009 Steel 42 x 11 x 10 cm Artist’s collection 60
Young Man 2009 Steel 38 x 11 x 6 cm Artist’s collection 61
Rider 2009 Steel 30 x 26 x 6 cm Artist’s collection 62
Bird 2009 Steel 37 x 17 x 10 cm Artist’s collection 63
Biographical Outline
May 24, 1923 Born in Alexandria, Egypt. 1934-1941 Studies at Melkonian Educational Institute, an Armenian boarding school in Nicosia, Cyprus, where he is taught by the renowned painter Onnik Avetisyan. 1941-1943 Works at a textile factory in Alexandria. 1944
Moves to Cairo. Studies at the Cairo Academy of Fine Arts.
1952-1954 Studies in Paris, first under André Lotte, then at l’Academie Grand Chomièr, under Edward Goerg, with a sponsorship from the Armenian community in Egypt. 1959-1961
Participates in first and second Biennales held in Alexandria. Many museums in Egypt acquire his work. Donates his ten best paintings to the National Gallery of Armenia.
1962
Repatriates with his family to Armenia. First lives in Leninakan (Gyumri) for five years, then moves to Yerevan.
1963-1967 Member of the City Council of Leninakan. 1967-1970 Member of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR. 1973
Elected Board Member of the Artists’ Union of Armenia.
1988
Elected Member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR.
1993
“Family”, one of Hagopian’s celebrated sculptures, is erected on the territory of the Research Institute on Mount Aragats.
1994
Donates ten works to the “Hayastan All-Armenian Fund”. Participates in an Armenian painters’ exhibition in Paris and with the proceeds purchases a studio at the prestigious Cité Internationale des Arts.
1996
Elected Member of the Academy of Fine Arts of the Russian Federation.
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Solo Exhibitions
1963
Yerevan, Leninakan (Gyumri), Kirovakan (Vanadzor), Soviet Armenia.
1974
Vienna, Austria: Joint exhibition with Minas Avetisyan.
1977-1985 Paris, France; Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR; Riga, Latvian SSR; Moscow; Leningrad; Tbilisi; Kiev; Novosibirsk; Lvov; Rostov-onDon; Stavropol; Volgograd and other USSR cities. 1981
Nicosia, Cyprus.
1986
Kassel, Germany: Joint exhibition with Alexander Grigorian.
1987
Helsinki, Finland.
1990
Moscow, USSR.
1993
Yerevan, Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, in honor of Hagopian’s 70th birthday.
1994
Beirut, Lebanon: Roshan Gallery.
2002
Cairo, Egypt.
2003
Yerevan, Armenia: Artists’ Union, in honor of Hagopian’s 80th birthday.
2005
Los Angeles, USA: Folk Art Museum.
2007
Marseille, France; Minsk, Belarus.
2009
Artists’ Union of Armenia.
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Group Exhibitions
1944
Cairo, Egypt: Exhibition of Armenian Painters.
1953
Bucharest, Romania: Fourth Youth Festival in Bucharest (under the pseudonym Emil).
1954
Paris, France: Exhibition of Young French Artists.
1958 Moscow and Leningrad, USSR: Egyptian Art Exhibition. 1970-1972 Montreal, Canada: “Expo-70”; Paris, France: Exhibition of Armenian Art, From Urartu to Present. 1975
Bologna and Bari, Italy: Exhibition of Sarian and thirteen other contemporary Armenian artists.
1976
Moscow, USSR: First All-Union Drawing Exhibition of the USSR.
1988
Padua and Venice, Italy: Exhibition of Sarian and his contemporaries.
1989
Montreal, Canada: Exhibition “Armenian Painters in Support of the Victims of the Earthquake.”
2004
Painters’ House, Moscow, Russia: First exhibition of visual art of CIS countries.
2010
A number of paintings and sculptures are presented at “The Body. New Fine Art in Armenia” exhibition at the Artists’ Union of Armenia.
2010
A number of paintings are presented at the exhibition, dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Constitution Court of Armenia
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Collections
Museum of Fine Arts, Cairo, Egypt. National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia. Museum of Contemporary Art of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. Museum of Eastern Cultures, Moscow, Russia. Zimmerly Art Museum, New Jersey, USA. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany. Georgian State Museum of Art, Tbilisi, Georgia. National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine. Central State Museum, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Armenian Church of Marseille, France. Museum and Library of the Mekhitarist Congregation of St. Lazar Island, Venice, Italy. The Museum of the Armenian Catholicossate of the Great House of Cilicia, Antelias, Lebanon. Museum and Library of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna, Austria. Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, Armenia. Private collections in Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Italy, Lebanon, Russia, Switzerland, USA.
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Honors and awards
1953
Participated in the Fourth Youth Festival in Bucharest (under the pseudonym Emil); his painting, Fellahs, received the Second Prize.
1967
Yerevan: Exhibition of Armenian artists; First Prize.
1970
Montreal, Canada: “Expo-70”; Paris, France: Exhibition of Armenian Art, From Urartu to Present, where he was bestowed the title of Honored Artist.
1977
Received the State Award of the Armenian SSR and the title of People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR.
1985
Received gold medal at the First Tbilisi Transcaucasian Biennale. Received the USSR State Award.
1994
Received “Hayastan All-Armenian Fund” Award.
1997
Awarded with “Mesrop Mashtots” National Medal of the Republic of Armenia.
2005
Awarded “St. Sahak and St. Mesrop” Medal of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin.
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