Officially, Cafesjian Center for the Arts (CCA,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
: (Gafesčyan arvesti kentron), also known as the Cafesjian Museum Foundation) is an
art museum
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...
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
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 ...
. It is located at the central
Kentron District
Kentron ( hy, Կենտրոն վարչական շրջան, translit=Kentron varčakan šrĵan), is one of the Districts of Yerevan, 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It comprises the downtown, the commercial centre of the city. As of ...
, in and around the
Yerevan Cascade
The Cascade ( hy, Կասկադ, ''Kaskad'') is a giant stairway made of limestone in Yerevan, Armenia. It links the downtown Kentron area of Yerevan with the Monument neighborhood ( Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun districts). Designed by architects Jim ...
which is a complex of massive staircase with fountains, ascending up from the
Tamanyan Street
Tamanyan Street ( hy, Թամանյան Փողոց, '' Tamanyan poghots'') is a pedestrian street in Yerevan, Armenia. It is located in the central Kentron district and links the Yerevan Cascade at the north with the Moscow street at the south. It ...
gardens and pedestrian zone.
Inspired by the vision of its founder,
Gerard L. Cafesjian
Gerard Leon Cafesjian ( hy, Ջերարդ Լեւոն wikt:Գաֆէսճեան, Գաֆէսճեան, 26 April 1925 – 15 September 2013) was a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Cafesjian Family Foundation (CFF), the Cafesjian Museum Fou ...
, the museum offers a wide variety of exhibitions, derived from the Gerard L. Cafesjian collection of contemporary art. Opened in November 2009, besides the exhibition of unique works of modern art, the museum offers a diverse program of lectures, films, concerts, and numerous educational initiatives for adults and children. Over one million people have visited the Center annually since its opening.
The museum is directed and run and the ''Cafesjian Museum Foundation''.
History
![Tamanyan street seen from Yerevan Cascade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Tamanyan_street_seen_from_Yerevan_Cascade.jpg)
The Cafesjian Museum Foundation was established in April 2002 in Yerevan under the auspices of the Government of Armenia and the Cafesjian Museum Foundation of America. The Armenian government provided the foundation with the half-constructed
Yerevan Cascade
The Cascade ( hy, Կասկադ, ''Kaskad'') is a giant stairway made of limestone in Yerevan, Armenia. It links the downtown Kentron area of Yerevan with the Monument neighborhood ( Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun districts). Designed by architects Jim ...
complex along with the surrounding area.
The construction of the Cafesjian Museum was launched in April 2005 and was expected to be completed in April 2008. However, with a slight delay, the grand opening of the museum took place on 17 November 2009. The opening ceremony was attended by the Armenian president
Serzh Sargsyan
Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)[Of ...](_blank)
, minister of culture
Hasmik Poghosyan
Hasmik S. Poghosyan ( hy, Հասմիկ Պողոսյան, May 22, 1960, Yerevan, Armenia), Armenian state and political figure, Minister of Culture of RA (2006-2016).
Biography
Hasmik Poghosyan was born on 22 May 1960 in Yerevan in the family of ...
, minister of diaspora
Hranush Hakobyan
Hranush Hrant Hakobyan ( hy, Հրանուշ Հրանտի Հակոբյան) is an Armenian politician who is the longest-serving woman in the National Assembly of Armenia and among the only seven women members of Armenia's Parliament. She was th ...
, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions in Armenia, various artists and political figures.
The Cafesjian Museum Foundation invested over 35 million dollars to complete the reconstruction of the Cascade.
Architecture
The museum is situated within the cascade complex of Yerevan and along the adjacent
pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
and gardens at the entrance to the cascade from the Tamanyan Street. The beginning of the construction of the cascade dates back to 1971, designed by architects Jim Torosyan, Aslan Mkhitaryan, Sargis Gurzadyan. The first phase of the plan was completed in 1980. The cascade is a complex massive
staircase on both sides with fountains in between, ascending up from the Tamanyan Street gardens and pedestrian zone. Having five levels, the number of the stairs is 572, ascending along 302 meters upwards.
However, only between 2002 and 2009 the complex was developed and the museum was opened through the Cafesjian Family Foundation.
The art center project was designed by the
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
-based ''David Hotson Architects''
The museum is considered one of the most ambitious works of contemporary architecture undertaken in any of the former republics of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described it as "a mad work of architectural megalomania and architectural recovery, (...) one of the strangest and most spectacular museum buildings to open in ages."
Structure
![View from the Cafesjian Center for the Arts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/View_from_the_Cafesjian_Center_for_the_Arts.jpg)
The museum consists of 2 separate sections: the external "Cafesjian Sculpture Garden", and the internal "Cafesjian Art Galleries".
*The Cafesjian Sculpture Garden is the front gardens of the cascade where many sculptures are exhibited. Sculptures are also exhibited in the garden terrace along the massive steps and fountains ascending up from the Tamanyan street gardens. With unobstructed walkways, long vistas, and formal garden areas, it has been specially designed to provide a modern setting for large-scale sculpture by many internationally recognized figures.
*The "Cafesjian Art Galleries" including the ''Gallery One'', ''Khanjyan Gallery'', ''Eagle Gallery'', ''Sasuntsi Davit Garden Gallery'', ''Star Landing'' and the ''Special Events Auditorium'', located underneath the exterior staircase and fountains. The galleries are home to a massive collection of glass artwork exhibited in several galleries and sections, including permanent shows or temporary exhibitions.
* ''Khanjyan Gallery'' is home to the large scale mural triptych "History of Armenia" by renowned Soviet and Armenian painter
Grigor Khanjyan
Grigor Khanjyan ( hy, Գրիգոր Խանջյան; 29 November 1926 – 19 April 2000) was a Soviet-Armenian artist, painter, and illustrator. He is most notable for his illustrations of historical novels and poems, and murals and tapestries on hi ...
. ''Sasuntsi Davit Gallery'' includes
basrelief by Artashes Hovsepyan depicting scenes from the Armenian epic fable
David of Sasun
David of Sassoun ( hy, Սասունցի Դավիթ ''Sasuntsi Davit also spelled David of Sasun'') is the main hero of Armenia's national epic ''Daredevils of Sassoun'', who drove Arab invaders out of Armenia.
Background
The ''Daredevils of S ...
.
Collection
![Mujer Fumando un Cigarrillo (Woman Smoking a Cigarette)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Mujer_Fumando_un_Cigarrillo_%28Woman_Smoking_a_Cigarette%29.jpg)
The majority of the museum's collection are derived from the private collection of the founder
Gerard L. Cafesjian
Gerard Leon Cafesjian ( hy, Ջերարդ Լեւոն wikt:Գաֆէսճեան, Գաֆէսճեան, 26 April 1925 – 15 September 2013) was a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Cafesjian Family Foundation (CFF), the Cafesjian Museum Fou ...
. With more than 5,000 works, the centre exhibits one of the most comprehensive glass collections in the world, particularly the works of the Czech couple
Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová
Stanislav Libenský (27 March 1921 – 24 February 2002) and Jaroslava Brychtová (18 July 1924 – 8 April 2020) were contemporary artists. Their works are included in many major modern art collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art an ...
, whose collaborative work revolutionized the use of glass as an artistic medium. Other important glass artists in the collection include
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture".
Early life
Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...
,
Bohumil Elias,
Pavel Hlava,
Jaromír Rybák,
Ivana Šrámková,
Bertil Vallien
Bertil is a first name of Germanic origin most commonly found among Swedish men. The oldest recorded use is from the year 1396, but the name did not come into widespread use until the 19th century.
People called Bertil include:
* Carl Bertil Agne ...
,
Lino Tagliapietra
Lino Tagliapietra (born 1934) is an Italian glass artist originally from Venice, who has also worked extensively in the United States. As a teacher and mentor, he has played a key role in the international exchange of glassblowing processes and tec ...
,
Mark Peiser, and
Hiroshi Yamano.
The collection also has substantial holdings in drawing, painting and sculpture by many influential artists including
Fernando Botero
Fernando Botero Angulo (born 19 April 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellín. His signature style, also known as "Boterismo", depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political ...
,
Arshile Gorky
Arshile Gorky (; born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, hy, Ոստանիկ Մանուկ Ատոյեան; April 15, 1904 – July 21, 1948) was an Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent the last years of his ...
,
Jennifer Bartlett
Jennifer Bartlett ( Losch; March 14, 1941 – July 25, 2022) was an American artist. She was known for paintings and prints that combine the system-based aesthetic of conceptual art with the painterly approach of Neo-Expressionism. Many of her ...
,
Lynn Chadwick
Lynn Russell Chadwick, (24 November 1914 – 25 April 2003) was an English sculptor and artist. Much of his work is semi-abstract sculpture in bronze or steel. His work is in the collections of MoMA in New York, the Tate in London and th ...
,
Barry Flanagan
Barry Flanagan OBE RA (11 January 1941 – 31 August 2009) was an Irish-Welsh sculptor. He is best known for his bronze statues of hares and other animals.
Biography
Barry Flanagan was born on 11 January 1941 in Prestatyn, North Wales. ...
,
Jaume Plensa
Jaume Plensa i Suñé (; born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish visual artist, sculptor, designer and engraver. He is a versatile artist who has also created opera sets, video projections and acoustic installations. He worked with renowned Catalan th ...
, and
François-Xavier Lalanne
Les Lalanne (sometimes translated as "The Lalannes" in English) is the term for the French artist team of François-Xavier Lalanne (1927–2008) and Claude Lalanne (1924–2019).
Biographies
Francois-Xavier Lalanne was born in Agen, France, and r ...
.
Works
Programs and Events
![Cascade concert sculpture garden, Yerevan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Cascade_concert_sculpture_garden%2C_Yerevan.jpg)
The museum organizes regular programmed events throughout the year:
*Encounters with Art: is a program launched in October 2010 as a series of events for adults, focusing on arts and artists. It takes place on the first Thursday of each month.
*Cafesjian Classical Music Series: under the slogan "to bring the best of the world art to Armenia and present the best of Armenian culture to the world", the Cafesjian Center for the Arts regularly organizes concerts for classical music lovers. It takes place at the first Wednesday of each month at the Special Events Auditorium. The program was launched in July 2010.
*Traditional Folk Dances at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts: it is regularly performed by the "Karin Dance Ensemble" on the last Friday of each month between May and September. It is an open show of traditional Armenian folk dance where hundreds of people join, irrespective of the weather at the Cafesjian Sculpture Garden. The program was launched in May 2010.
*Music Cascade: the series are among Yerevan's most popular pastimes. Many local renowned bands such as the Armenian Jazz Band, Cadence Ensemble, Katuner, Chico and Friends, Dorians, Suren Arustamyan and Arsa are among the regular performers. Live concerts of jazz, pop and rock music are performed at the Special Events Auditorium every Friday and Saturday, since March 2010.
On July 5, 2010, U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
delivered a speech at the Cafesjian Museum using the 'Rebirth of Armenia' section of
Khanjyan's triptych as a background.
The caption to the photo reads: "Secretary Clinton speaking at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, in the Armenian capital Yerevan, July 05, 2010. The painting in the background is called "Rebirth of Armenia" by Grigor Khanjyan."
/ref>
On August 20, 2010, The Khanjyan gallery of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts hosted the informal meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics ...
(CSTO) member states. The meeting was attended by the president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan
Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)[Of ...](_blank)
; the president of the Russian Federation, Dmitriy Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
; the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...
; the president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rakhmon; the interim leader of Kyrgyzstan, Rosa Otunbayeva, as well as the secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Nikolay Bordyuzha
Nikolay Nikolayevich Bordyuzha (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Бордю́жа, born 1949 in Oryol) is a Russian general and politician.
Biography
In 1972, he graduated from Perm Military School of the High Command of the R ...
.
Gallery
2014 Erywań, Kaskady (01).jpg, First level
2014 Erywań, Kaskady (03).jpg, Second level
2014 Erywań, Kaskady (11).jpg, Third level
ArtCascade4.jpg, Forth level from side
2014 Erywań, Kaskady (18).jpg, Fourth level
2014 Erywań, Kaskady (22).jpg, Fifth level
ArtCascade1.jpg, Art alongside ''Cascade''
ArtCascade2.jpg, Art alongside ''Cascade''
ArtCascade3.jpg, Art alongside ''Cascade''
ArtCascade5.jpg, Colored glass roof at the top of the ''Cascade''
References
External links
*
About Cafesjian Museum of Art
{{authority control
Art museums and galleries in Armenia
Museums in Yerevan
2009 establishments in Armenia
Art museums established in 2009