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A PRIVATE ART COLLECTION MADE PUBLIC
BY: Chirine Lahoud
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
December 1, 2011 Thursday
Gallerist Zara Mazmanian founded the Esquisse Gallery in Bahrain in
mid-2009. After the Arab Spring arrived in that country, however,
the gallery moved to Beirut.
BEIRUT: Gallerist Zara Mazmanian founded the Esquisse Gallery in
Bahrain in mid-2009. After the Arab Spring arrived in that country,
however, the gallery moved to Beirut.
As Esquisse is still under construction and not scheduled to open
officially in Ashrafieh until January 2012, Mazmanian decided to
open her first show, "Contemporary Dawn," last weekend at Hamra's
Tourism Ministry showroom.This collective exhibition is taken from
Mazmanian's private collection, pieces which, as she told The Daily
Star, "spoke to [her] heart."
"Contemporary Dawn" is comprised of work from such Armenian artists
as Albert Hakobyan, Gabriel Manukyan and Mkrtich Mazmanian and Middle
Eastern artists like Faika al-Hasan.
The exhibition title, she said, "expresses a fresh start," and what
better place than the Tourism Ministry to host the blending of cultures
that the nationalities of artists implies.
Gabriel Manukyan (aka Gabo) is represented by a pair of
acrylic-on-canvas works entitled, respectively, "The Wedding Day"
and "Across the Bank."
What immediately attracts the eye of the viewer is the artist's palette
of vivid colors. Greens, blues, yellows and browns pervade the canvas,
giving it a cheerful aspect. His art is described in press documents
as reflecting "a world of fantasy, magic and joy."
"The Wedding Day" focuses on two persons, presumably a bride and
groom. The bride is sensually reclined on a decorative platform,
her wedding bed. Above her, two figures (apparently men) seem to be
blowing on horn-like instruments - whether to woo her or to celebrate
the impending nuptials is uncertain.
This tableau unfolds before a solid green background - the color
of fertility and regeneration - which further underlines the sense
of celebration.
Gabo's depiction of his two characters is puppet-like. Whatever makes
up their bodies, it is not bone, muscle or flesh. Their body parts
appear to have been stitched together so that it's difficult to tell
where the flesh ends and the clothing begins, assemblages of colorful
cloth which give the characters the aspect of living pi?atas.
The balance between the solid background and the fabric-like riot of
Gabo's figures is well devised: to have painted a variegated background
would have stifled the canvases too much.
Although these are very busy canvases, it's a pleasure to gaze upon
the dream-like world depicted in this artist's work.
Not all the work in "Contemporary Dawn" is equally enjoyable.
Teni Vardanyan's four oil-on-canvas pieces place viewers before quite
obscure scenes.
"The Yellow Light" (82x65 cm) portrays three odd creatures, which
appear to be joined to one another at the hips and shoulders, like
Siamese triplets. Two arms are visible, with gloved hands. The creature
on the right has two faces and is wearing slippers, while the other
two stand barefoot on what looks like a floor tile or a stage.
All stand before a yellow light bulb suspended from the ceiling.
Teni's painting technique emphasizes this impression of looking at
fantastic creatures. Their faces aren't detailed and their heads are
round-shaped (like a light bulb actually). No clue about gender is
given to viewers and we don't know whether they are nude or dressed.
We notice a dichotomy in the color used to paint their bodies. Legs
radiate shades of orange, as though reflecting the light emitted
by the bulb. The upper parts of their bodies, on the other hand,
are blue, almost fluorescent.
There is something perfunctory in the depiction of the light bulb,
as though it were added at the last minute.
The exhibition includes a wide range of figurative sculptures in
bronze by Mkrtich Mazmanian - father of the gallery owner. Mazmanian's
sculptures depict female-shaped bodies in different situations.
The bottom part of "Messenger" (103x25x20 cm) is comprised of an
angular feminine body, combined with an upper body made of what
appears to be a roll of paper.
Mazmanian's deployment of his "Messenger" suggests it/she is on her way
to deliver this message. The exhibition literature suggests Mazmanian's
art is "spatial ... abstract yet contains realism." The sole trace
of realism here lies in its depiction of the female body, though the
uncoiling of the paper roll conveys the impression of movement.
The bronze "Mirage Two" (65x30x20 cm) radiates a sense of lightness,
portraying the body of an angel - from what we decipher to be a wing
on the left side of the work - with its legs replaced by a striped
piece of bronze, similar to the waves of a mirage you might see in
the desert.
In Mazmanian's sculptures, there is always a hint of motion. He
transports viewers into an imaginary world, blending realist shapes
with fantastical ones.
"Contemporary Dawn" is on display at Glass Hall, in the Tourism
Ministry, until Dec. 4. For further information, please call
01-340-940.
BY: Chirine Lahoud
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
December 1, 2011 Thursday
Gallerist Zara Mazmanian founded the Esquisse Gallery in Bahrain in
mid-2009. After the Arab Spring arrived in that country, however,
the gallery moved to Beirut.
BEIRUT: Gallerist Zara Mazmanian founded the Esquisse Gallery in
Bahrain in mid-2009. After the Arab Spring arrived in that country,
however, the gallery moved to Beirut.
As Esquisse is still under construction and not scheduled to open
officially in Ashrafieh until January 2012, Mazmanian decided to
open her first show, "Contemporary Dawn," last weekend at Hamra's
Tourism Ministry showroom.This collective exhibition is taken from
Mazmanian's private collection, pieces which, as she told The Daily
Star, "spoke to [her] heart."
"Contemporary Dawn" is comprised of work from such Armenian artists
as Albert Hakobyan, Gabriel Manukyan and Mkrtich Mazmanian and Middle
Eastern artists like Faika al-Hasan.
The exhibition title, she said, "expresses a fresh start," and what
better place than the Tourism Ministry to host the blending of cultures
that the nationalities of artists implies.
Gabriel Manukyan (aka Gabo) is represented by a pair of
acrylic-on-canvas works entitled, respectively, "The Wedding Day"
and "Across the Bank."
What immediately attracts the eye of the viewer is the artist's palette
of vivid colors. Greens, blues, yellows and browns pervade the canvas,
giving it a cheerful aspect. His art is described in press documents
as reflecting "a world of fantasy, magic and joy."
"The Wedding Day" focuses on two persons, presumably a bride and
groom. The bride is sensually reclined on a decorative platform,
her wedding bed. Above her, two figures (apparently men) seem to be
blowing on horn-like instruments - whether to woo her or to celebrate
the impending nuptials is uncertain.
This tableau unfolds before a solid green background - the color
of fertility and regeneration - which further underlines the sense
of celebration.
Gabo's depiction of his two characters is puppet-like. Whatever makes
up their bodies, it is not bone, muscle or flesh. Their body parts
appear to have been stitched together so that it's difficult to tell
where the flesh ends and the clothing begins, assemblages of colorful
cloth which give the characters the aspect of living pi?atas.
The balance between the solid background and the fabric-like riot of
Gabo's figures is well devised: to have painted a variegated background
would have stifled the canvases too much.
Although these are very busy canvases, it's a pleasure to gaze upon
the dream-like world depicted in this artist's work.
Not all the work in "Contemporary Dawn" is equally enjoyable.
Teni Vardanyan's four oil-on-canvas pieces place viewers before quite
obscure scenes.
"The Yellow Light" (82x65 cm) portrays three odd creatures, which
appear to be joined to one another at the hips and shoulders, like
Siamese triplets. Two arms are visible, with gloved hands. The creature
on the right has two faces and is wearing slippers, while the other
two stand barefoot on what looks like a floor tile or a stage.
All stand before a yellow light bulb suspended from the ceiling.
Teni's painting technique emphasizes this impression of looking at
fantastic creatures. Their faces aren't detailed and their heads are
round-shaped (like a light bulb actually). No clue about gender is
given to viewers and we don't know whether they are nude or dressed.
We notice a dichotomy in the color used to paint their bodies. Legs
radiate shades of orange, as though reflecting the light emitted
by the bulb. The upper parts of their bodies, on the other hand,
are blue, almost fluorescent.
There is something perfunctory in the depiction of the light bulb,
as though it were added at the last minute.
The exhibition includes a wide range of figurative sculptures in
bronze by Mkrtich Mazmanian - father of the gallery owner. Mazmanian's
sculptures depict female-shaped bodies in different situations.
The bottom part of "Messenger" (103x25x20 cm) is comprised of an
angular feminine body, combined with an upper body made of what
appears to be a roll of paper.
Mazmanian's deployment of his "Messenger" suggests it/she is on her way
to deliver this message. The exhibition literature suggests Mazmanian's
art is "spatial ... abstract yet contains realism." The sole trace
of realism here lies in its depiction of the female body, though the
uncoiling of the paper roll conveys the impression of movement.
The bronze "Mirage Two" (65x30x20 cm) radiates a sense of lightness,
portraying the body of an angel - from what we decipher to be a wing
on the left side of the work - with its legs replaced by a striped
piece of bronze, similar to the waves of a mirage you might see in
the desert.
In Mazmanian's sculptures, there is always a hint of motion. He
transports viewers into an imaginary world, blending realist shapes
with fantastical ones.
"Contemporary Dawn" is on display at Glass Hall, in the Tourism
Ministry, until Dec. 4. For further information, please call
01-340-940.