BERLIN — Websites and blogs are generally the voice of an individual. This one speaks for a family, three generations, all of them artists of renown. The Galentz Research Center, launched by third generation artist Archi Galentz, is a blog platform — in Armenian, English and Russian — and a meeting place for persons active in the cultural realm. Especially those interested in Armenian visual art and its history are welcome visitors.
Archi Galentz, who launched the website https://galentz-research.org in July, explains that it is based on the history and experience of his own family, from grandparents Harutyun Harmandanyan Kalentz (Galentz) (1910-1967) and his wife, Armine Baronyan-Kalentz (Galentz) (1920-2007), to father Saro Galentz (1946-2017), to himself, Harutyun Archi Galentz, born in 1971.
Educated in Moscow, Yerevan and Berlin, he has been living and working in the German capital for many years. In his atelier, InteriorDAsein, he has hosted exhibitions of his own and other artists’ works. In 2016, he curated a unique exhibition of works by his grandparents. (See https://galentz-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Artistic-Journeys-through-National-Destinies-The-Armenian-Mirror-Spectator.pdf)
Last year he opened a new gallery, Wolf & Galentz, together with Andreas Wolf. In addition to organizing exhibitions, the two artists serve as consultants for collectors and estates. Galentz himself has a vast, impressive collection of modern and contemporary works.
His latest initiative is the new site, which offers information on this rich family heritage, in the form of published articles as well as new research. With the help of the site, Galentz hopes to lay the basis for a Galentz Research Center, an independent institute “based on part of Hartutyun Galentz’s house-museum in Yerevan, after its restructuring.” In addition to promoting cultural studies, including art history, the new entity will take part in educational activities.
A Contested Legacy