Events / Exhibitions

24.09.2015 - 24.11.2015

Hovhannes Zardaryan “EXODUS”

On September 24, 2015 the exhibition entitled “Exodus” of one of the distinguished classic representatives of Armenian Painting Hovhannes Zardayan (1918-1992) will take place within the framework of “The Centenary of the Armenian Genocide”. It will be open till November 24, 2015. The exhibition includes more than sixty paintings and graphic works from family collection.
Hovhannes Zardaryan was born in Kars. The historic events happened at the beginning of the 20th century made his family after long wanderings first appear in Armavir, then in Krasnodar and in 1920 in Tiflis (currently Tbilisi). Exactly here the future artist made his first steps of creative activity at the local Academy of Fine Arts. But in a short period the Zardaryan moved to Yerevan. Hovhannes continued his education in Geghard Technical College (currently The P. Terlemezian State College of Fine Arts). It was in 1933 when the cream of prominent Armenian artists taught in the college: S. Aghajanian, V. Akhikian, S. Arakelian, V. Gaifejian and others. Zardaryan was the student of the last two lecturers: Arakelian and Gaifejian. Later, the artist continued his professional education in the Department of Monumental Painting of the Leningrad Academy of Fine Arts. The student years were preceded by the prolific creative period the beginning of which coincided with the years of the Great Patriotic War.
Social realism made the inseparable part of the history of each state of the former Soviet Union. Zardaryan’s art either could not avoid the obliged political ideology and the reality proceeded.
The artist’s works of this period were multi genre and comprehensive. The historic portraits by the young artist (“The Musicologist Komitas”, 1950-52, “Nakhashavigh” /The First Path/…) as large scale compositions of substantial solutions were of monumental nature close to the claims of the time, as well as of romantic essence which attracted the attention of the famous art historians of the time. After his first steps of creative activity the artist was awarded rewards and titles as well as had exhibitions. But during those years both in Soviet Union and abroad Zardaryan was represented only as an artist of social realistic thoughts.
Later the works ‘Spring” 1956 and “Aspiration’ 1960, signified a new creative period. These works were distinguished by obvious substance as a call for freedom, with symbolic images and fresh colour solutions.
The evidence of the artist’s “dissident inclinations” makes his personal exhibition being open in the framework of “The Centenary of the Genocide” at the National Gallery of Armenia. The sixty paintings and graphic works exhibited are family property under the title “Exodus”. These paintings created in 1957-79 contradict the official Soviet ideology with their subject matter and artistic approach. Yet, in 1955 by order of the State History Museum of Armenia the artist painted the canvas ‘The Crossing of River Araks. The Banishment of Armenians by Abbas I of Persia, 1604”. This was his first multi figured historic and thematic work, which at the time theorists considered to be an ordinary illustration and didn’t particularly interpret. But Zardaryan was regularly returning to the subject in the following years which is also a subject of present day. The development of the idea of the artist’s permanent thematic reference in 1957-79 resulted in the creation of series “Exodus”. At first works were striking for their realistic interpretation and cool colour solutions. In the result of gradual detail generalization of multi figured compositions, and the synthesis of colours and forms the artist could get from the reality to the abstract compositions. Finally, canvases reminded of colourful vitrage-surfaces.
Zardaryan lived and worked till 1992. Parallel to his creative activity he educated generations of artists. His works are preserved in various world museums, in private collections and, certainly, in the collection of the National Gallery of Armenia. But this series stands out from the works known before both by its thematic and artistic nature. The following exhibition is an opportunity once
 

Permanent
exhibition

Self-portrait (1896)

canvas, oil
49x31,5 cm