Arthur Sarkissian (; b. 11 May 1960) is an Armenian artist and painter.
Life Sarkissian attended the School of Fine Arts in Yerevan in 1977, followed by the Yerevan State Pedagogical University (Drawing) in 1989. He lives and works in Yerevan, Armenia.
Art 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."
His canvases combine painting and silkscreen printing, incorporating text, photographs, signs, architectural images and extracts from other paintings, fusing oil paint with found ephemera.
Sarkissian’s art encompasses a diverse range of meanings and forms. His practice aligns with those of Robert Rauschenberg and Kurt Schwitters, and his work can be traced to predecessors such as Warhol, Cornell, Miro, Malevich, and Picasso. Sarkissian demonstrates that the “collage aesthetic,” characterized by simultaneously disjunctive and conjunctive qualities that define modern composition, possesses a significant and enduring legacy. This collage aesthetic serves as the perceptual crucible in which the aforementioned dialectic is forged and defines the particular visual world in which Sarkissian expresses himself.
His installation artwork includes the work Closed Session, 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."
His work is displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in Yerevan.
Works Sarkissian's works include:
Mind Games (2003), oil on canvas, 400 x 400 cm Game in the Museum (2005), mixed media on canvas, 195 x 145 inches Evening in the museum (2005), mixed media on canvas, 95 x 175 cm 20 Pages (2006), oil on canvas, 138 x 118 cm Three colour stains (2006), mixed media on canvas, 100 x 80 cm Closed Session (2007), mixed media installation 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.
Exhibitions Solo exhibitions: 1994 – Bossen Cultural Center, Saarbrücken, Germany 1998 – JNR Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia 2003 – Mind Games, First Floor Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
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 2010 – Between The Images 3, Artology Gallery 101, Los Angeles, California 2013 – "Artist Retrospective 2011–2013 and Catalogue Presentation" Dalan Art Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia
Group exhibitions: 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 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 2009 – "Transitional Hypothesis", group exhibition of Armenian-Japanese artists, ACCEA 2010 – "Colors of Armenia Exhibition" Yerevan, Armenia 2010 – "Colors of Armenia Exhibition" Marseille, France 2010 – "OPTIMIZM, Armenian New Art" Artists Union, Yerevan, Armenia 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
Gallery
References
External links
on Artnet on Artsy Art Cube Gallery