We're delighted to announce an online exhibition of oil paintings by Tigran Asatryan.
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 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.
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, comtemporary painter, Tigran Asatryan presents the inimitable style of Armenian art and its blend of histories ancient and current.
Text by Baykar Demir
Biography
1968 – Born in Yerevan, Armenia.
1979-1982 – Studied at H. Kojoyan Art School.
1985 – 1986 –Studied at P. Terlemezyan Art College.
1987-1993 – Studied and graduated with Gold Medal from the Academy of Fine Arts, Yerevan.
1997 – One of the founders and member of “Realist Artists Union”, Yerevan.
Exhibitions
1995-2003 – Participated in national and international group exhibitions in Armenia, Russia, Canada, Egypt, Lebanon, Germany and Qatar.
1995 – Science Academy of Russia, Moscow.
1996 – Hilton Ramses, Cairo, Egypt.
1997, 1999 – National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan.
1999, AGBU, Demirdjian Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
1999 – The vultural center of “Al Moussassa al Arabia Li Sakafa Will Founoun”.
2002 – By invitation of His Highness Sheikh Ali-Bin Abdullah Al-Thani, Doha, Qatar.
2009 – “Love Magic”, InterArt gallery, New York.
2010 “Contemporary Armenian Art” InterArt gallery, New York.
2013 – Silviana gallery, Kopenhagen, Dania.
2014 – Cote d’Azur, Monaco.
2015 – Komitas Museum – Institute, Yerevan.
2015 – “East to West, Modern to Postmodern”, with Bardzr Arvest gallery, Modern Art Museum (Yerevan), Haigazian University (Beirut, Lebanon)
2017 – dedicated to the 85th anniversary of Armenian Artists’ Union, Yerevan.
Solo Exhibitions
2012, 2016 – Dalan Art Gallery, Yerevan
2018 – Modern Art Museum, Yerevan
2018- Gallery Selvin, İstanbul.