Welcome to the Cafesjian Center for the Arts!

The building that is already open as Cafesjian Art Center for many years has been a place of interest in the city of Yerevan. I wonder if the dream of the famous Armenian architect Alexander Tamanyan is now turned into reality?

Tamanyan wished to join the central and Nothern areas of the city, that is to say the historically inhabited and cultural centers. These two areas were planned to be joined by a large territory of waterfalls and gardens and this territory was to rush down from the highest hills of the city. Unfortunately, the architect did not manage to realize his project and only in 1970s the main architect of Yerevan Jim Torosyan gave a new life to this project. However, this again was not to take the construction of the monument to its culmination. It was only in 2002 that Mr. Gerard Cafesjian cooperating with the Municipality of Yerevan and also with the Government of the Republic of Armenia undertook the recently completed construction of Cascade. It took seven years to make a reality out of a miracle, it took seven years to reconstruct Cascade and to turn it into one of the world’s outstanding contemporary art centers. It took seven years to make Armenian people and guests all over the world believe that we have a wonderful monument that could undoubtedly serve as an assembly place for all those who love art, who live in art, who appreciate this remaining value.

During those seven years the monument was basically reconstructed and the main part of it was completely altered and turned into an art center that now bares the name of its main benefactor Gerard Cafesjian. It serves to bring the best of contemporary art to Armenia.

No words will ever do to describe the emotions and the surprise that conveyed the fairy evening of the 7th of November, the day of the opening ceremony of the Cafesjian Center of the Arts that was accompanied by unforgettable fireworks display. On the 8th of November at exactly 10:00 am the public was invited to celebrate the official opening ceremony of the Cafesjian Center of the Arts that was accompanied by the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Inspired by the vision of its founder, Mr. Gerard Cafesjian, the center offers a wide variety of exhibitions, the majority of which are derived from Mr. Cafesjian’s own extensive collection of contemporary art. However, let’s not hurry…

Such internationally recognized figures as Fernando Botero, Lynn Chadwick, Jaume Plensa and Barry Flanagangot mixing their bright imagination with years’ hard work created the Tamanyan Sculpture Park that is located at the base of the Cascade. It presents one of the world’s finest collections of monumental sculpture.

The Visitor Center is located at the ground floor of the Cascade. Here you can buy tickets to many events that are going to be held in the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Here you will always be welcomed by the friendly staff and all your questions will get quick answers in different languages.

As soon as you enter the building adjacent to the Visitor Center Gallery One is located demonstrating a variety of exhibitions. The part of the exhibited objects pertain to Mr. Cafesjian’s private collection. Here a large-screen media display provides informational videos about Armenian artists and their artworks not only in Armenia but throughout the world.
Museum Store should also be mentioned as far as it includes not only merchandise from all over the world but also demonstrates unique artworks by such well-known artists as Dale Chihuly, Andy Warhol and Isamu Noguchi.
No one can stay indifferent to Khanjyan Hall representing such important events from the Armenian history as the creation of the Armenian Alphabet, the Battle of Vardanank and The Rebirth of Armenia.

In this building one can also admire the masterpieces of the world glass art, the artworks of the Czech glass artists Stanislav Libensky (1921-2002) and Jaroslava Brychtova. The artworks are located in the Sasuntsi Davit Hall and will remain there for a while. The art center also includes Sasuntsi Davit Garden Hall and Eagle Hall and the Special Events Auditorium offering the city’s premier venue for the best in classical, jazz and pop music.

The Eagle Garden Hall represents an exhibition entitled In the Mind of the Collector. The lovers of eclectic art can enjoy the amazing collection of objects, ranging from a 28-foot model of a ship on which Mr. Gerard Cafesjian served in the Pacific during World War II, to a rare 1906 Model N Ford Runabout, and a working model of a Wabash steam locomotive.
In 2007 Swarovski Cristal palace invited 18 international designers and artists to create a new approach of chandeliers. New York architectural studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro reacted creating their scandalous “Light Socks.” This is a completely new and modern approach of chandeliers that have also been brought to Yerevan and are now located in one of the halls of the art center.

The miracle of these two days will stay with me for a long time. This miracle will surely stay with all those who had a chance to be a part of these events.

“I’m extremely happy to be present at the opening ceremony of the museum and once more have a chance to be with you my dear Armenian nation. The idea of the construction of the center is the logical continuation of my great love to art and of the desire to find the best future for my art collections,” was mentioned in Gerard Cafesjian’s speech.

I think the city of Yerevan really deserves to have such wonderful events and the great fete that Mr. Cafesjian and all the organizers presented to the city. Art and culture are values that must be preserved. Such events are more than important to give people opportunities to be close to art.

UK welcomes the Gyumri artist

On October 22The British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Londsdale hosted a reception for Armenian artist Arshak Sarkissian. The event, marked Sarkissian’s forthcoming departure for London, where he was to attend the opening of an exhibition of his recent works. Present at the Ambassador’s reception were family and friends of Sarkissian, local artists and art patrons, as well as representatives of museums, and the Ministry of Culture.
The opening of the exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Arshak Sarkissian, a young artist from Armenia at the Albemarle Gallery, 49 Albemarle Street. London, W1S 4JR took place on November 5th and will last until 28th.
Born in Gyumri, Armenia, Sarkissian achieved fame at a young age. The recipient of his country’s Presidential Gold Medal for Fine Arts, he was commissioned to redesign a section of the Zvartnots International Airport terminal. Since 1999 his works have been exhibited throughout the world. Most recently he completed a residency at New York’s Art Omi International."
Today Arshak Sarkissian is widely regarded as the visual poet of Yerevan’s youth culture. His sprawling, densely populated canvases depict the sacred and the profane of a society in giddy flux, hungry for self-discovery and meaningful transformation. Sarkissian distills the fierce energies of an eclectic metropolis into tightly-woven pastiches, in which the street life of the downtrodden and behind-the-curtain abandon of bacchanalian beauties at turns collide and converge.
“Meeting and getting to know artists has been one of the greatest pleasures and inspirations for me in Armenia, and that certainly includes Arshak”, said Lonsdale. “It’s incredibly hard for artists to get shown in the UK, so it’s a real tribute to Arshak’s achievements and talent that he has secured this show at a very serious gallery in London. We wish Arshak enormous personal success with this show, but I hope it can also pave the way for other Armenian artists to become better known in the UK and to arouse interest in Armenia more generally.”
“It is an honor to receive the moral support of Ambassador Londsdale,” Sarkissian said. “Encouragement of this order means the world to an artist. I am profoundly moved by this gesture, and also very grateful to Albemarle Gallery for exhibiting my latest works.”

Michael Kimmelman in Armenia for the Grand Opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts

Yerevan, Armenia, 3 November 2009 – The Cafesjian Center for the Arts is proud to announce that Michael Kimmelman, the lead art critic of the New York Times will visit Yerevan, Armenia to take part in a series of special events marking the Grand Opening of the Center on November 8th, 2009. An influential force in contemporary art, Kimmelman will deliver a lecture on his Pulitzer Prize nominated book The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa. A book signing will follow the lecture, providing a unique opportunity for the public to meet the author.

"Good art is generous," says Kimmelman. "It's about encouraging people to look more closely at what's around them.” Kimmelman’s unique approach is told with great color in his book, placing both art and art viewers into a cultural context and in communication with each other.

As Kimmelman writes in the introduction to The Accidental Masterpiece, his goal was to explore how “…art provides us with clues about how to live our own life more fully. Put differently, this book is, in part, about how creating, collecting, and even just appreciating art can make living a daily masterpiece.” The book includes discussions on artists as wide-ranging as Bonnard, Vermeer, de Kooning, and Duchamp, but it also includes a chapter about Dr. Hugh Hicks, who runs a private museum from his basement showcasing his collection of over 75,000 light bulbs.

Born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York, Kimmelman attended Yale College and did his graduate work in Art History at Harvard University. He is currently based in Berlin, writing the Abroad column for the Times on culture and society across Europe.

Tickets to the event can be reserved by phone at (374 10) 54 19 32 or e-mail (info@cmf.am), and purchased in the Visitor Center on the day of the event. The book can be purchased at the Museum Store.

The Cafesjian Center for the Arts reminds the public that its Grand Opening Celebration will begin on the evening of Saturday, November 7th with a spectacular fireworks display near the Cascade monument. Taking over seven years to complete, the Cascade has been completely transformed into one of the world’s outstanding contemporary art centers. On Sunday, November 8th, the Center invites the public to view all the renovations that have taken place inside the Cascade and to enjoy an outstanding schedule of exhibitions, visiting lecturers, book-signings, concerts and events. For a detailed schedule of events, please visit our website at www.cmf.am.

Wonderful diptych from Hasmik Avetisyan

Can you imagine day and night at the same time? :) We can :)

This wonderful diptych from talented Armenian painter Hasmik Avetisyan adds bright colors of shiny day and mystery of dark night to your interior.

Night

Night is a magic picture that conveys the enigma of night. The picture is filled with positive emotions and charges. This is a unique approach to imagining and painting night, a time that allows to dream and fly in imagination. Together with Daytime it makes a wonderful diptych telling how deep the artist’s imagination can go.

Daytime

Daytime is a picture filled with positi1ve emotions and charges. This is a unique approach to imagining and painting day, the beginning of life, existence. Together with Night it makes a wonderful diptych telling how deep the artist’s imagination can go.

Do you want to fly?

Very young, very talented, full of energy, charged with positive emotions, with enthusiasm and believing that any man has the right to be free – that’s how one can give the portrait of Armenian contemporary artist Ani Rashoyan, as most people call her RashAn.

Look at this poster? Does it inspire and prompt you to fly?

Hang this poster on the wall of your bedroom and let it bring the atmosphere of freedom to the favorite corner in your house.

You want these emotions to follow you all day long…? I have some other suggestion. Take it out with you on your bag and let it inspire you and be stimulus of good mood.

The skyscrapers, the girl her hair spread and her hands wide open create the effect of height, of endless feeling of being free, irrespective of any conditionality. Gently chosen color combinations will undoubtedly make you relax and feel at ease.