Arto Tchakmakchian: Rebirth

July 03, 2015 – August 30, 2015 The Cafesjian Center for the Arts announces the opening of the exhibition, Arto Tchakmakchian: Rebirth, a solo exhibition of the renowned Candaian-based Armenian artist Arto Tchakmakchian. Living and working in Canada for the past 40 years, the artist has always remained devoted to his roots and Armenian culture. 

The exhibition brings together 10 sculptures and over 20 graphic works from the artist’s body of work, including rare artworks from his early Armenian period, presenting his stylistic and artistic development through the decades. Works focused on two icons of Armenian culture, Grigor Narekatsi and Komitas, as major inspirational sources, are featured as part of the exhibition, expressing the artist’s vision of his culture and its spiritual force. 

Arto (Harutyun) Tchakmakchian was born in Egypt, in 1933. His family repatriated to Soviet Armenia in 1946. He began his professional studies at the age of 15 at the Art School of Panos Terlemezian. In 1962 he received First Prize at the International Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition in Prague for his sculpture Reclining Figure". The artist won First Prize for his composition "Monument to the Victims of Hiroshima, in a competition organized by Moscow Peace Committee. The work was given by the USSR to the City of Hiroshima in 1964. In 1969 he was the recipient of the Armenian Youth Union golden medal for his works Mother and Arno Babajanyan. These works were purchased by the State Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow. In 1984 he won First Prize in the Wilfrid Pelletier Competition in Montreal for his bust of the competition's namesake. The work is on permanent display in the entrance hall of Place des Arts in Montreal. His works have also been exhibited in famous museums internationally, particularly in the Louvre Museum. His most recent notable exhibition was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in 2010. 

Arto Tchakmakchian’s awards and acknowledgements include:
2004 "Order of Movses Khorenatsi" by the President of Armenia
2009 “Letter of Recognition” by the Minister of Culture, Communications and Feminine Condition of Quebec Government
2009 Medal of "Naregatsi" by the University of California in Los Angeles
2015 Order of Honor by the President of Armenia

Exhibition Catalog