Preface

The 20 year young Republic of Armenia, rich in historyand cultural traditions, has an art endowed with a unique character. Given thecountry’s limited resources, however, it is not well-known outside the bordersof Armenia and is infrequently displayed at international exhibitions.

This year, for the first time, Armenia has beenprovided the opportunity to introduce its art at theBeijing International Art Biennale with its own “Special Exhibition”.

The idea forArmenia’s participation came about at the Beijing International Biennale in thesummer of 2011, when Armenia’s Ministry of Culture and the Armenia’s Embassy inChina organized the “Days of ArmenianCulture”, complete with music concerts and art exhibits. This affordedArmenia’s diplomatic mission in China the exceptional opportunity to getacquainted with China’s ancient and rich culture by visiting various museumsand attending the different events being staged at the time. At Beijing’sNational Art Gallery, we not only viewed the permanent exhibition and othertemporary exhibits, but became more fully informed about the BeijingInternational Biennale.

After returningto Armenia, Mrs.Sona Harutyunyan made a proposal to Armenia’s Ministry ofCulture that we submit an application to participate in the 2012 Fifth BeijingInternational Art Biennale with a “SpecialExhibition” of Armenian contemporary art. The proposal was accepted byArmenia’s Ministry of Culture and included in its 2012 list of state programs.

Prior to 2012,Armenia had been represented at the Beijing International Biennale via works ofindividual artists, thus allowing viewers to form only a partial impression ofwhat is going on in the Armenian contemporary art scene. By displaying theworks of Armenian artists in a “SpecialExhibition”, we will now be able to present a collective image of Armenia’scontemporary art and the creative potential existing in Armenia that cancompete on the international art scene when it comes to raising universalissues.

We hope that Armenia’s “SpecialExhibition”, in the new space of the Beijing Biennale, will herald theentry of Armenian contemporary art on the world stage and facilitate theintegration of Armenian artists into communities of already established artistsof international renown.

We place great importance on the summit planned during the opening daysof the Biennale, where a number of outstanding artists and art critics willexchange ideas and opinions. We expect that such contacts and exchanges willexpand subsequent creative prospects and will provide Armenian artistsopportunities for diverse inter-cultural cooperation.

Let me also note that this year marks the twentieth anniversary of theestablishment of Chinese-Armenian diplomatic relations. We are confident thatthe “Special Exhibition”,representing as it does a wide mosaic of Armenian art, will uniquely contributeto the deepening of Chinese-Armenian ties, particularly in regards todeveloping an inter-cultural dialogue.

                                               Going over the limits ofconversation and identity

Historically the Armenian Highland had been thecrossroad of  religious and politicalclashes between the powerful empires of the past and, at the same time thecommercial important point at the Silk Road. This factor was decisive forshaping the character of a nation which historically became the “translator”between different cultures of the Asia Minor.

Considering these realities Armenian art wascharacterized by appropriation of  external influences and strives to create it’sown unique own style and character. During the last 17 centuries the countrywitnessed the domination of Rome and Byzantuim, Arabs and Ottomans, Persiansand Russians.

The geographical location of Armenians is quite waste, and duringthe course of 20^thcentury Armenian artists had to develop  their artistic career both, in the SovietArmenia and in the countries where Armenians had established their diasporacommunities after and before the World War One. Thus, the Armenian art had aluck to have it’s members within different international modern art movementsof late 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries in France, Italy, USA andRussia and, as a consequence  enrichArmenian’s  art perception and artisticvocabulary .

Present day Republic of Armenia, who is the  inheritor of Soviet Armenian republic had aparticular and interesting art chronology. The beginning of 20s wascharacterized by massive repatriation of Armenian artists from  different eastern and western European andMiddle Eastern  countries to their newlyformed homeland.

Although Stalinist purges affected negatively on the development ofmultiple artistic movements under the hegemony of aesthetic doctrines asSocialistic Realism, nevertheless the late 50s witnessed a considerable changesby emerging a brilliant generation of 60s, who, in spite of stagnated Sovietart dogmas was keen to abolish  previousart forms in bringing fresh ideas into Armenian art.

The establishment of  thefirst  Modern Art Museum  in Yerevan in 1974, which  became a sensation for Soviet reality was noless but  logical conclusion of theefforts of newly thinking generation. It gave a new impetus for shaping currentcultural identity of the country. New artistic ideas and art forms had beenperformed for the large public. Such an achievements been registered as well asin Armenian cinematography, architecture, theatre and music. Culture wasregarded as a key tool to recreate a new model of national  specific character.

No less merit to these developments should be attributed to thoseArmenian artists, who’s contribution into the international art developments encouraged  morally and aesthetically Armenian artists inArmenia by broadening their artistic horizon. The case with Archil Gorky is antipical example. The diversity of conceptual background  in Armenia was conditioned by  the information flowing to the smallest state of Soviet Union from thediaspora artist’s.

However Soviet had created a special cultural atmosphere, where alarge army of artists were trying to form their artistic credo by struggling tooutline their own national or personal or subjective identity through theirartistic character by appropriating or inventing alternative artisticvocabularies.

Post  Soviet times createdit’s new realities. Armenia had passed through war and economical collapseafter disintegration from Soviet centralized state. The new state was no longer remained, as former, the  main art contributor. Artists saw themselvesbeing disintegrated from previous art society. The new perspectives were to beadopted within international cultural realities was quite unclear. Numerousartists had left Armenia for mainly USA, Europe and Russia. But those whoremained  in Armenia and continued theircreative process had to recreate first in their mind the ideal vision of newcultural realities they might have belong to and also to form a new strategy ofartist’s existence within the country with weak economy and mere absence of artmarket.

After restoration of  Independence at 1990, Armenian art  has witnessed dynamic and profoundtransformations. Endowed with a unique nature, it now acquires anew trait.

An attempt to observe theirown experience and aspiration was made by the generation of artists who wasable to build their own aesthetic challenges in 19-20 centuries when the artworld experienced development worldwide.

Artists whose works wereshown at the special exhibition, having different views on the “artist” and his“work” concept, aim to determine the original context of artwork. Committed toreality, at the same time, they make efforts to discover  future. Using both the traditional andexperimental languages, they pursue to follow the modern world transformations.They do not talk about something “like” reality; instead they create theatmosphere of conversation, the relationship.

Armenian art was historicallydefined by certain characteristics, such as strive to turn the idea into asymbol, an attempt to speak by indirect language. Everything involves someamount of uncertainty. Facts, chronicle yield to universal generalization.

When one takes a step to make a revision, to study or to outline theArmenian art, always rises the most essential question: Armenian art or art made by Armenian? Especially when it comesto approach the Armenian art of 20-21centuries.In the Armenian museums the artwhich was and is produced by Armenians is categorized as an Armenian art.Although majority of Armenians live outside Armenia the artists who take a partof international art circles are introduced in Armenia as Armenian artists andtheir art as an Armenian art.

This situation creates a rich artistic content of the country’scultural character  but at the same timeneeds a special approach if the moment comes to introduce “Armenian” art fromArmenia.

Eleven artists are representing three generations. Some have  clearly formulated their ideals and formalcredos. There are artists, who do not hurry to reach stylistic solidity butundergo a constant  experimental    transmutations.

The poetic lyricism is en essentialcomponent of Edvard  Kharazyan’s art. Thedelicate and soft colors incline the viewer to survey these abstracted imageswith the inner vision. The deep content of works are unfolded by vibrations ofpermanent color surfaces.

Executed by simple black outlinesa biomorphic reality, which is in a process of constant transformation appearsin Yura Harutyunian’s abstract paintings.This is a reality, which emerges fromthe profound altitudes of artist’s self and his existential process.

Garik Karapetyanstrives to re-evaluate and change the mechanisms of affecting on canvassurface. The minimal interventions  on amostly dark and permanent surfaces evokes the feeling of entemporal illusion.

In his attempt to build arelationship with painting surface Tigran Sahakyan shifts visual plan to amaterial relief. The final result is not evocative: instead it shows itsprimary feature.

Ruben Grigorian’s art checksthe visual imagination of the viewer and makes him to recall both familiarimages and emotional experience associated with these images. Applyinguniversal symbols in classical landscape painting proves the doublebelongingness of his art, where absurdity is combined with everyday life.

Hamlet Hovsepyan’s artwork isin harmony with nature’s chaotic turmoil. In his paintings we see the nature inits full colors, which make them inwardly unbreachable, solid andcomprehensive. Image and object continue each other. Human being’s innerecology looks for equivalent signs.

Narek Avetisian’s minimalist imagesare free from narrative telling and drama. Color is shadowlike and homogeneous,spread evenly across the entire surface.Images give the pictureanthropometrical sense. Color and optical solutions open you up tomultidimensional feeling.

Industrial metal waste inAshot Harutyunian’s sculptures undergoes various transformations. Geometricelements are used for both serving its primary purpose and transforming it intoa new object. Bearing the mark of actuality however, it has power to penetratea vast territory of conventionality and symbolism.

In Ara Haytayan’s works wenotice transformation of nature into neo-technological form. Selected black andwhite colors emphasize artist’s aspiration to create alleged drawing-map withtechnological elements. With the help of these small crumbs the author hopes tooutline the human traces from the old times.

Mary Moon expresses hervision of life by classical methods of painting. Her photorealisticinterpretation of scattered autumn leaves associated with her interest inEuropean classical school of light-dimensional problems. She focused herattention into the mere banal state of nature, turning it into a post factumregistration.

“Behind the Fences” – KarenAlekyan’s watercolor and pencil installation series – recalls destroyed afterthe earthquake city’s emotional experience. The painter, who comes from atraditional and pantheistic city, sees his own existential path by depicting aFence randomly built from scrap.

Thus, the modern Armenian artgoes over the period of fundamental conceptual and ideological changes. At thisstage of intercultural exchanges, it moves on a dynamic and consistent way.

Armenia’s participation withspecial exhibition in the Beijing International Biennale is an extremely importantevent. By demonstrating a wide range of our latest art works, we hope that itwill help the art lovers from China and all over the world to better understandthe current tendencies of modern Armenian art.

Ara Haytayan, 13.12.2011

Artist, Art Curator of SpecialArmenianExhibition