YEREVAN—The British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Londsdale, on October 22, hosted a reception for Armenian artist Arshak Sarkissian. The event, marked Sarkissian’s forthcoming departure for London, where he will 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.
“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.”
Sarkissian’s much-anticipated London show will open on November 5 at Albemarle Gallery. He will share billing with renowned Italian master Luigi Benedicenti. The exhibition will be open through November 28.
“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.”
A native of Gyumri, Armenia, Sarkissian has earned critical and popular acclaim for his signature expressionistic paintings and sculptures. The recipient of his country’s Presidential Gold Medal for Fine Arts, he is widely regarded as the visual poet of Yerevan’s youth culture.
Sarkissian is also noted for a number of high-profile cultural projects, including his redesign of 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.
To learn more about Arshak, please visit www.sarkissian-art.com
When I first read this article’s headline, “Gyumri Artist Takes on The United Kingdom,” the first thing that came into my head was that the artist was somehow going to create a piece of art that “takes on” the British government’s BIG LIE that it does not know whether Turkey committed a genocide.
Of course, British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Londsdale, would never had invited this artist to the UK had he not known beforehand that the UK would be celebrated, not criticized.
Here’s what Lonsdale said: “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.”
The “interest” that Britain has in Armenia, of course, has less to do with oil “paint” then with how to get oil from the Caspian to the west now that Georgia’s ability to host future pipelines has been thrown into doubt by the Russia – Georgian war last year.