Two Art Installations by Varteni in Armenia during Fall 2018

On 9 November 2018 the Modern Art Museum of Yerevan (MAMY), Armenia will open an installation entitled Palimpsest: History in Drawers, showcasing art works by Boston based painter Varteni. In the early 1980’s Henrik Igityan, founder of MAMY, was at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA for a lecture. Varteni and Igityan met during this time and the latter visited the artist’s studio, applauded her work and invited her to come to Armenia for an exhibition. Decades later this dream is being realized.

Just ahead of the MAMY show the installation would be opening at the Berlin Art Hotel, Gallery 25, Gyumri, Armenia on 20 October 2018.

Palimpsest: History in Drawers is a re-imaging of a time just a few steps back, before the digital reshaping of our lives and a time when our memories had a hard copy extension tucked away in a drawer somewhere in some corner of the house. As the artist puts it … this is an art installation expressing some moments of my remembrance, remembrance of separation and distance, letters from loved ones tucked away in a drawer and then years later found and read with longing. A moment for now … and the NOW that Varteni mentions at the end of her statement is the question that the installation asks. Are we making any “hard copies” of our memories and leaving them behind in some drawer somewhere? And if the digital image is not the answer then perhaps a sculpture, a painting or a drawing hung on a wall NOW will be the remembrance in a later life, a remembrance much valued then…..

The Berlin Art Hotel show will take place from 20 October through 4 November 2018 with the opening reception set for Saturday 20th October | 18:00 to 21:00 with appearance by Hasmik and Alec Harutyunyans. For info please contact: Alex Ter-Minasyan +374 55 40 8336

The MAMY show will be from 9 November through 20 November 2018 with the opening reception set for Friday 9th November | 18:00 to 21:00. Hasmik and Alec Harutyunyans will also perform in this opening reception. For info please contact: Zara Ayroumyan +374 (0) 91 223910

Proceeds from both shows will be donated into a fund to help nurture the arts within the Gyumri school system.

Varteni was born in Istanbul and as a youth migrated to the New World. She has attended California Institute of Arts and is a graduate of the College of Fine Arts, University of Central Florida.

Her biography has been published in “Who is Who of American Women” and her paintings have been shown in exhibitions worldwide.

More information on the artist is available at www.Varteni.com

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Art work attached

Caption: The Song of Nane, oil on linen, 100 cm x 155 cm