EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN ARTISTS ORGANIZED AT OSHAGAN UNION OF CYPRUS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 15, 2009

CYPRUS, APRIL 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian Cultural
Association Hamazkayin Oshagan organised an exhibition of Armenian
Cypriot artists at the Utudjian Hall of the Armenian Prelature of
Cyprus, Nicosia, under the auspices of the Armenian Representative,
Mr Vartkes Mahdessian.

The exhibition was open between 6-8 March 2009. Twenty four Armenian
Cypriot artists of all ages proudly exhibited 88 works in total. The
themes varied, ranging from paintings, mosaics, mirrors and photographs
to articles of clothing, jewellery, carpets, chairs, pillows, silk
works, wood works, patchworks and charms. This plethora of exhibits
reminded us that art is so much more than just painting. The most
sentimental piece was made by Tatiana Ferahian from Limassol, a time
capsule with bone remains from Genocide martyrs, brought to Cyprus
by her mother in 2005 from the Der Zor desert, a powerful reminder
of the atrocities the Armenian nation endured in the end of the 19th
and the beginning of the 20th centuries, yet it managed to survive,
thrive and prosper.

Other Armenian themes included four wooden khachkars (cross-stones),
created by Aris Utujian, four of Artin Anmahouni’s paintings (new Sourp
Asdvadzadzin church, the Magaravank in Pendadhaktylos, Noravank, and
Ararat), all three of well-known John Guevherian’s paintings (Victoria
street, the old Sourp Asdvadzadzin church, and Noravank Monastery),
the Ayp Pen Kim (the Armenian alphabet, by Shoghik Arakelian) and the
Garmiravor church, by Manoug Mangaldjian. The famous artist Vartan
Tashdjian, who was also a speaker at the exhibition, chose to display
only one theme: the Melkonian. In his seven paintings we were able
to see the various buildings and yards of the Melkonian, whose memory
must never fade away and the fight for its re-opening must never cease.