PRESS RELEASE
Cafesjian Museum Foundation
3 Tamanian Street, Suite 31
Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Madlene Minassian
Tel: 374-10-56-72-62
Fax: 374-10-5615-89
E-mail: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected])
Web: _www.cmf.am_ ()
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
June 1, 2005
Cafesjian Museum Foundation Launches Construction
Seven New Sculptures Unveiled
The Cafesjian Museum Foundation launched the construction of the
Gerard L.
Cafesjian Museum of Art and unveiled seven new pieces from the
Cafesjian Collection at a reception on May 31st in Yerevan,
Armenia. Gerard L. Cafesjian and the Trustees of the Cafesjian Museum
Foundation welcomed President of Armenia Robert Kocharian, President
of Nagorno Karabagh Arkadi Ghukasyan, United States Senator Norm
Coleman, United States Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, renowned
artist Jaroslava Brychtova and over five hundred guests for the
celebration.
The event was held at the Monument Platform at the top of the
Cascade. Upon arrival to the event, guests were greeted by the `Roman
Warrior’, a sculpture by Fernando Botero. The 1986 bronze sculpture
with a brown patina stands proudly over 12 feet tall and is the second
Botero piece to adorn Yerevan.The well known Columbian artist also
created the Cat, which sits at the base of the Gerard L. Cafesjian
Center for the Arts.
The ceremony began with a blessing by His Grace Bishop Paren Avetikian
of The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. He read a special address from
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. The letter
emphasized the great hope the church has for the project undertaken by
Mr. Cafesjian.
The audience then turned their attention to the unveiling of the six
sculptures placed at the Monument Terrace. The first three pieces
unveiledwere by British sculptor Lynn Chadwick, one of the giants of
20th century art. The three sculptures: “Stairs”, “Two Watchers” and
“Sitting Forms”, are a testament to Chadwick’s distinctive vocabulary
of form and his extraordinary imagination.
The next two sculptures, titled ; “Acrobats”, and “Hare on Bell”, were
prepared by Welsh sculptor Barry Flanagan. Flanagan is best known for
hisdynamic and often monumental bronze hares.
The last peice unveiled was `Open Window’. It is the first sculpture
by Libensky and Brychtova to be exhibited in Armenia. The
collaboration of Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova for more
than forty years took the studio glass movement into the realm of fine
art. The legacy of Stanislav Libensky is, in a very real sense,
present in this work here today. Libensky passed in 2002 but the
Cafesjian Museum Foundation was especially pleased to have Jaroslava
Brychtova present for the unveiling of the piece.
After the unveiling ceremony the guests were treated to a reception
and entertainment including Astor Piazzolla, performed by the Cadence
Ensembleand a spectacular fireworks and music show by the Armenian
Jazz Band.
The evening ended with great anticipation for the completion of the
museum, which is scheduled to open in the year 2007. A model and
animation of the museum were presented to the public for the first
time. The design treats the principal Museum building as an extension
of the Cascade, completing an animated pathway linking Tamanyan Park
to the Monument Terrace by exterior stairways and interior escalators.