Yerevan, Armenia.- “Spring Motifs: A Selection from the Collection of the Museum of Russian Art” exhibition opens at Sasuntsi Davit Garden Gallery of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts on March 1st. The exhibition presents 24 paintings from the reserves of the Museum of Russian Art of Armenia (Aram Abrahamyan Collection), united by the theme of women’s portraits and flowers, conveying the spirit of spring. Throughout the first day of the exhibition the admission to the gallery will be free. The exhibition will last till May 20th. The cheerful tonality of the exhibition inspires the hope for the better, associated with the spring, the return of the sun and warmth. The intimate, in camera feeling imparted by the artworks bear the imprint of the personal taste of the collector, his own preferences in art. At the same time, the exposition bears emblematic significance as it presents the major artists of the late 19th and early 20th century as well as of the Soviet era, presenting such major artists as Mikhail Vrubel, Eghishe Tadevosyan, Evgeny Lancere and others. The exhibition is a joint undertaking of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts and the Museum of Russian Art of Armenia and marks the launch of intermuseum cooperation program by the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
“Loyal to its mission of bringing the best of world’s art to Armenia and presenting the best of Armenian culture to the world, the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, through such joint exhibitions presented in the Center’s state-of-the-art galleries, will encourage the public to rediscover its cultural heritage and provide its sister museums with added visibility in the international community. I am positive that this innovative collaboration with the Museum of Russian Art will make it more accessible for the art-loving community – both during this exhibition and after its closure”, stated Vahagn Marabyan, the Acting Executive Director of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. “One can hardly view it as incidental that the very first examples of the intermuseum cooperation presents the Museum of Russian Art. The Cafesjian Center for the Arts and the Museum of Russian Art obviously have a lot in common. In particular, both Museums are established on the basis of private collections, donated by two great benefactors, Aram Abrahamyan and Gerard L. Cafesjian, to their historical motherland. The biographies of these two patriots are completely different, yet among the human qualities that unite them – the reverence for art and for Armenia comes as the first and foremost. This is what guided them in this action of utmost patriotism”, noted the Director of the Museum of Russian Art Anush Ter-Minasyan.
The Cafesjian Center for the Arts is dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary art to Armenia and presenting the best of Armenian culture to the world. Inspired by the vision of its founder, Mr. Gerard L. Cafesjian, the Center offers a wide variety of exhibitions, the majority of which are derived from Mr. Cafesjian’s own extensive collection of contemporary art. The building that now houses the Cafesjian Center for the Arts is well known to the Armenian people, especially those living in its capital city of Yerevan. Known as “The Cascade,” the complex was originally conceived by the architect Alexander Tamanyan (1878–1936). Tamanyan wanted to connect the northern and central parts of the city with a vast green area of waterfalls and gardens, cascading down one of the city’s highest promontories. Unfortunately, the plan remained largely forgotten until the late 1970s, when it was revived by Yerevan’s Chief Architect, Jim Torosyan. Torosyan’s conception of the Cascade included Tamanyan’s original plan but incorporated new ideas that included a monumental exterior stairway, a long indoor shaft containing a series of escalators, and an intricate network of halls, courtyards, and outdoor gardens embellished with numerous works of sculpture bearing references to Armenia’s rich history and cultural heritage. Construction of Torosyan’s design of the Cascade was launched by the Soviets in the 1980s but abandoned after the Armenian earthquake of 1988 and the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. With independent rule and the transition to democracy, Armenia entered a period of severe economic hardship, and the Cascade remained a neglected relic of the Soviet era for more than a decade. Mr. Cafesjian, working with the City of Yerevan and the government of the Republic of Armenia, initiated its recent revitalization in 2002. Over the next seven years, virtually every aspect of the monument was renovated, and much of it completely reconstituted into a Center for the Arts bearing the name of its principal benefactor. Visit the Cafesjian Center for Arts website at … http://www.cmf.am