Arthur Sarkissian (Armenian: Արթուր Սարգսյան) is an Armenian artist and painter.[1]

Arthur Sarkissian
Arthur Sarkissian in his solo exhibition,
Los Angeles, CA 2010
NationalityArmenian
Alma materYerevan State Pedagogical University
Known forPainting
MovementPost-modernism
Spouse
(m. 1981; div. 1984)

Life

edit

Sarkissian attended the School of Fine Arts there in 1977, followed by the Yerevan State Pedagogical University (Drawing) in 1989.[2] He lives and works in Yerevan, Armenia.[3]

Sarkissian works in abstract art as a statement of post-Soviet freedom of expression. He said in 2005, "my approach to painting developed from the desire to free myself from Socialist Realism."[4]

His canvases combine painting and silkscreen printing, incorporating text, photographs, signs, architectural images and extracts from other paintings, fusing oil paint with found ephemera.[5]

Such a polyglot, polysemic art is not unique to Sarkissian. We see his style anticipated by Robert Rauschenberg, and before him Kurt Schwitters. We even see its textures and practices, as well as philosophical positions, reflected in the work of such disparate predecessors as Warhol, Cornell, Miro, Malevich, and, of course, Picasso. Among other things, Sarkissian demonstrates that the “collage aesthetic” – the simultaneously disjunctive and conjunctive qualities that uniquely define modern composition – remains one of 20th century art's most significant and enduring legacies. Indeed, this collage aesthetic provides the perceptual crucible in which the dialectic described above is forged, and it defines the particular visual world in which Sarkissian finds his expression.[1][6]

His installation artwork includes the work Closed Session,[7] comprising a row of seven chairs of varying sizes, each standing on four lit lightbulbs; described by Sonia Balassanian, curator of the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (ACCEA), as a "satirical reference to self-aggrandizing decision-makers."[7]

His work is displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in Yerevan.[2]

Works

edit

Sarkissian's works include:

 
Closed Session (2007), mixed media installation
  • Mind Games (2003), oil on canvas, 400 x 400 cm
  • Game in the Museum (2005), mixed media on canvas, 195 x 145 inches[8]
  • Evening in the museum (2005), mixed media on canvas, 95 x 175 cm[3]
  • 20 Pages (2006), oil on canvas, 138 x 118 cm
  • Three colour stains (2006), mixed media on canvas, 100 x 80 cm[3]
  • Closed Session (2007), mixed media installation[7]
  • Nervus Probandi (2009), oil on canvas, 120 x 195 cm
  • Image Stripes (2011), oil on canvas, 110 x 140 cm,    It was sold at the Christie's Auction in London,[9]

Exhibitions

edit

Solo exhibitions:[2]

  • 1994 – Bossen Cultural Center, Saarbrücken, Germany
  • 1998 – JNR Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2003 – Mind Games, First Floor Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
 
Arthur Sarkissian with his
Representative Caroline Tufenkian
1927 Gallery, Fine Arts Building, Los Angeles, California
  • 2006 – First Floor Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2008 – Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2009 – Between The Images, One Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2010 – Between The Images 2, 1927 Gallery, Fine Arts Building, Los Angeles, California[10]
  • 2010 – Between The Images 3, Artology Gallery 101, Los Angeles, California
  • 2013 – "Artist Retrospective 2011–2013 and Catalogue Presentation" Dalan Art Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia[11]

Group exhibitions:[2]

  • 1989 – "Art of the USSR: The Past 50 Years", Madrid, Spain Catalogues
  • 1991 – "New Tendencies in Art", Goyak Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 1991 – "Contemporary Art From Armenia", The New Academy Gallery, London, UK
  • 1992 – "Contemporary Armenian Artists", Gallery Vision, Kassel, Germany
  • 1992 – "Armenian Post-Modernism", Moscow, Russia
  • 1997 – "Dreams & Visions", Art Benefit, Chicago, Illinois, US
  • 1999 – "Windows to Armenia" and "With Many Voices", Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois, US
  • 2005 – "Armenian Contemporary Art", Harvest Gallery, Glendale, California, US[12]
  • 2005 – Marie Pargas Art Gallery, Asheville, NC, US
  • 2005 – The Collection Of Viken Makhyan, AGBU Pasadena Center, US
  • 2005 – "Photo Plus", ACCEA, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2006 – "Art Without Borders", Havana Gallery, Oldenburg, Germany
  • 2007 – "Armenian Landscapes in Contemporary Art", EWZ, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2007 – "5 Armenian Artists", Marcel, France
  • 2007 – "Armenian Contemporary Art", Paris, France
  • 2008 – "Undercurrent Shifts", ACCEA, curated by Sonia Balassanian and David Kareyan[13]
  • 2009 – "Transitional Hypothesis", group exhibition of Armenian-Japanese artists, ACCEA[14]
  • 2010 – "Colors of Armenia Exhibition" Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2010 – "Colors of Armenia Exhibition" Marseille, France[15]
  • 2010 – "OPTIMIZM, Armenian New Art" Artists Union, Yerevan, Armenia [16]
  • 2011 – "Art Cube Gallery" Group Exhibition Laguna Beach, California, US
  • 2011 – "Dalan Art Gallery" Group Exhibition Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2013 – "Dalan Art Gallery" Group Exhibition New Local Art, Yerevan, Armenia
  • 2013 – "Saatchi Gallery" Burning Bright at Hyatt Regency London – London, UK[17]
edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Henrik Igityan (2005). Armenian Palette – New Generation. Yerevan: Tigran Metz Publishing House. pp. 138–145. ISBN 99941-0-140-4.
  2. ^ a b c d Arthur Sarkissian (2006). Art'owr Sargsyan (in Armenian and Russian). Yerevan: Tigran Mets. pp. 85–86. ISBN 99941-0-173-0.
  3. ^ a b c "Arthur Sarkissian - Past Auction Results". artnet. 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  4. ^ Tamar Sinanian and Taleen Tertzakian (2008). "Art in the Time of Change: Contemporary Art in Armenia" (PDF). Critics’ Forum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  5. ^ "ArtAsiaPacific: Not Found". aapmag.com.
  6. ^ "Arthur Sarkissian | Literature". arthursarkissian.com. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  7. ^ a b c "ACCEA exhibit seeks to emancipate "art from intellectualization"". The Armenian Reporter. 2008-10-15. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  8. ^ "Arthur Sarkissian – Art for Sale". AskART. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  9. ^ "Christie's Arthur Sarkissian –". Christie's. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  10. ^ "Works of Arthur Sarkissian to be Exhibited on Thursday". Asbarez. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  11. ^ "Events". arthursarkissian.com. Retrieved 2017-03-24.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Armenian Contemporary Art at Harvest Gallery May 13 through June 16". Asbarez.com. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-26.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Emancipating art from intellectualization" (PDF). The Armenian Reporter: C9–C11. 2008-10-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  14. ^ "Transitional Hypothesis, Armenian-Japanese Exhibition" (PDF). ACCEA. 4–17 June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  15. ^ "Delta Culture Association • Colors of Armenia". Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  16. ^ "Exhibitions". hovanessiangallery.com. Retrieved 2017-03-24.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Vivien Zhang | Saatchi Art". saatchionline.com. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  18. ^ "Evening in the museum by Arthur Sarkissian on artnet". artnet.com. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
edit