FORWARD
The aim of this exhibition is to present, for the first time in London, 80 works by 24 Armenian artists from Soviet Armenia and France.
Armenia, one of the smallest republics in the Soviet Union, is the only country in the USSR that has a Museum of Modern Art. Its capital, Yerevan, is today the centre of Armenian art and culture, where contemporary painting attains significant results.
Half of the Armenian population, however, lives outside Armenia, dispersed throughout the world. During the past century, more than 300 Armenian artists of this Diaspora have worked in Paris, which has become the most productive centre for Armenian artists living outside Armenia. Some of them, such as Carzou and Jansem, have won international renown.
Contemporary Armenian painting has developed naturally from a 2000 year old tradition of murals, medieval miniature painting (illuminated manuscripts) and khachkars (carved stone-crosses). Armenian artists, whether living in the mother country or the Diaspora, seem to remain spiritually linked to their ancient culture. Regardless of their diversity in style and technique, the works assembled in this exhibition bring together these two distant art centres, and convey the persistent vigour of the same people creating under different skies.
Garig Basmadjian
