WATERTOWN — The Armenian Museum of America has recently opened its latest exhibition in the Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries, “Gandzaran! Notable Selections from Our Collection.” The show is curated by Ryann Casey, and co-curated by Gary Lind-Sinanian and Elias Trout.
“Gandzaran!” showcases 39 works by 24 artists from around the world. It is scheduled to run through August 4.
In recent centuries, Armenian fine art often focused on illuminations, reliquaries, and other pious objects, the most significant of which were secured and hidden in the gandzaran, or treasury, of a monastery. These treasure vaults were designed to protect religious works, which would be displayed periodically for the faithful, then returned to the vaults to be preserved for the ages.
“Drawing from the vaults of the Museum here in Boston, its own gandzaran of sorts, this exhibit highlights the development of Armenian art in the 20th and 21st centuries, from religious motifs to the Soviet period and its continuous reinterpretation among contemporary artists around the world,” says Curator Ryann Casey.
“It’s a show full of diversity that demonstrates the breadth of history in Armenia and the Diaspora, featuring paintings, etchings, and sculpture,” adds Ms. Casey. Some of the artists include Minas Avetisyan, Maria Manukyan Batlle, Jean Carzou, Edgar Chahine, Felix Eghiazarian, Charles Garabedian, Sarkis Hamalbashian, Jean Jansem, Kevork Mourad, Reuben Nakian, Naomi Pridjian, and Hovsep Pushman.
The show opened with a preview for Museum members on March 22. It was attended by more than 100 people including Museum Trustee Hapet Berberian, the family of the late Martin Barooshian, and the curator of his Trust, Michael J. Russo. Mr. Barooshian is an American-Armenian surrealist featured in the exhibition with two incredible etchings, including one of Gomidas Vartabed.
