Arthur Sarkissian ( hy, Արթուր Սարգսյան) is an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n artist and painter.

Life

Sarkissian attended the School of Fine Arts there in 1977, followed by the

Yerevan State Pedagogical University Khachatur Abovian Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) ( hy, Խաչատուր Աբովյանի անվան հայկական պետական մանկավարժական համալսարան, ՀՊՄՀ), is a state university and higher educa ...

(Drawing) in 1989. He lives and works in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

, Armenia.

Art

Sarkissian works in

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

as a statement of

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

freedom of expression. He said in 2005, "my approach to painting developed from the desire to free myself from

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

." His canvases combine painting and

silkscreen printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

, incorporating text, photographs, signs, architectural images and extracts from other paintings, fusing oil paint with found ephemera. 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. 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 Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (or ACCEA; , or NPAK) is a contemporary art institution founded in 1992, and located in Yerevan, capital of Armenia. About ACCEA/NPAK was founded in 1992 by Sonia Balassanian and her husband Edwar ...

(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: Arthur Sarkissian Closed Session

* ''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 Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

Auction in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions: *1994 – Bossen Cultural Center,

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

, Germany *1998 – JNR Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia *2003 – ''Mind Games'', First Floor Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia Arthur Sarkissan Los Angeles

*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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

*2010 – ''Between The Images 3'', Artology Gallery 101,

*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 Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain Catalogues *1991 – "New Tendencies in Art", Goyak Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia *1991 – "Contemporary Art From Armenia", The New Academy Gallery,

, UK *1992 – "Contemporary Armenian Artists", Gallery Vision,

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, Germany *1992 – "Armenian Post-Modernism",

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia *1997 – "Dreams & Visions", Art Benefit, Chicago, Illinois, US *1999 – "Windows to Armenia" and "With Many Voices", Fourth Presbyterian Church,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, US *2005 – "Armenian Contemporary Art", Harvest Gallery,

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

, California, US *2005 – Marie Pargas Art Gallery,

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, 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 Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

, Germany *2007 – "Armenian Landscapes in Contemporary Art", EWZ, Zurich, Switzerland *2007 – "5 Armenian Artists", Marcel, France *2007 – "Armenian Contemporary Art",

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 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"

, Armenia *2010 – "Colors of Armenia Exhibition"

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, France *2010 – "OPTIMIZM, Armenian New Art" Artists Union,

, Armenia *2011 – "Art Cube Gallery" Group Exhibition

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

, California, US *2011 – "Dalan Art Gallery" Group Exhibition

, Armenia *2013 – "Dalan Art Gallery" Group Exhibition New Local Art,

, Armenia *2013 – "

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

" Burning Bright at Hyatt Regency London – London, UK

Gallery

Image:ArthurSarkissian A Fabricated Page.jpg, ''A Fabricated Page'', 2006, oil on canvas, 70x90cm Image:ArthurSarkissian Mind Games.jpg, ''Twenty Color Pages'', 2002, oil on canvas, 195x125cm. Image:ArthurSarkissian Nervus Probandi.jpg, ''Nervus Probandus'', 2009, oil on canvas, Image:ArthurSarkissian Painting 01.jpg, ''13 Colour Scriptums'', 2009, oil on canvas, 80x110cm. Image:ArthurSarkissian Paint 006.jpg, ''Evening in the Museum'', 2005, oil on canvas, 95x175cm.
Sold at the

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Image:Arthur Sarkissian Painting.jpg, ''Cronicle'', 2008, oil on canvas

References

External links

*
on Artnet

on Artsy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkissian, Arthur Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Armenian State Pedagogical University alumni Armenian painters Contemporary painters Postmodern artists Abstract expressionist artists Abstract artists