ARSHILE GORKY ON EXHIBIT IN YEREVAN
Asbarez
/arshile-gorky-on-exhibit-in-yerevan/
Oct 19th, 2009
YEREVAN-The first major exhibition in Yerevan of original work by
the American-Armenian artist Arshile Gorky will take place at the
Cafesjian Center from 8 November 2009 through 31 January 2010.
Arshile Gorky: Selections from the Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection will
exhibit 16 drawings and 7 paintings by the man who would become known
as the most monumental presence in American twentieth-century art.
This is the first major exhibition of original work in Armenia by
Gorky, an artist once described by a critic of the time as a "hero
of Abstract Expressionism."
"The many preliminary drawings and oil sketches in this exhibition
provide unparalleled insight into Gorky’s unique working method," Dr.
Michael De Marsche, Executive Director of the Cafesjian Center for
the Arts, recently stated. "Gorky’s complex, large-scale compositions
of cohesive design and universal theme continue to be viewed as some
of the finest examples of American art at mid-century."
Gorky fled Western Armenia during the genocide of 1915 and witnessed
the death of his mother from starvation. After living in Yerevan for a
period of time, he arrived in the United States in 1920 at the age of
fifteen. Gorky remained passionate about Armenia throughout his life.
In the many letters he sent to his brother Moorad and sister
Vartoosh, he expressed a longing to return to Western Armenia, and
wrote poetically about every possible aspect of the land: the ancient
khachkars of its villages; the salty air of his native region of Van;
the fragrance of the country’s mountain air; the dolma he ate as a
youth; and, of course, his beloved Mount Ararat, "the brain of nature,"
as he described it, "ordaining its movements."
Gorky eventually became one of the most influential painters of the
twentieth century, and just as his career was reaching new heights,
his life ended tragically in suicide in 1948. The Gorky exhibition
will be one of many exhibitions commemorating the opening of the
Cafesjian Center for the Arts-a fitting tribute to a man whose death
60 years ago has been marked by major exhibitions of his work in
museums throughout the world, including the Philadelphia Museum of
Art and London’s Tate Modern.
The Cafesjian Center for the Arts Grand Opening Celebration will
begin on the evening of Saturday, November 7th, with a spectacular
fireworks display near the Cascade monument. 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, lectures, book-signings,
and events.