The Cafesjian Center for the Arts Presents Two New Sculptures from the Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection

September 30, 2011 Two new bronze sculptures are presented on the open-air Khanjyan terrace of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts (CCA) - The Visitor, 2011, by British artist David Breuer-Weil, especially commissioned by Gerard L. Cafesjian for installation at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, and Carpe (Très Grande), created in 2000 by French artist François-Xavier Lalanne.

The two sculptures expand the impressive selection of monumental sculptures installed at the Cafesjian Sculpture Garden and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, already listing such major names in contemporary art as Fernando Botero, Jaume Plensa, Barry Flanagan and Lynn Chadwick. Part of the Gerard L Cafesjian Collection, the sculptures’ installation on the Cascade is in keeping with Mr. Cafesjian’s suggested placement of the works in relation to one another.

David Breuer-Weil is a British sculptor, born in London in 1965. The Visitor is the first monumental sculpture produced by the artist that compliments a new series of bronzes created by Breuer-Weil. The Visitor may be seen as an island of humanity, allowing the viewer’s imagination to suggest the presence of the rest of the figure. The artist’s fingerprints are enlarged to massive proportions on the surface, enhancing the emotive appeal of the work. 

François-Xavier Lalanne (1927 - 2008) began his artistic career in Montparnasse, where he painted landscapes and portraits. François-Xavier's sculptures play deliberately on the absurd. Proportion is exaggerated, whilst contours and details are simplified. Uncanny in their scale and context, such overwhelming bronze sculptures as Carpe (Très Grande) provide no apparent representation of nature, but, rather of literature as though displaced from the narratives of a fairytale. François-Xavier's bestiary is light-hearted, owing little to preconception and almost everything to the element of surprise.

The Cafesjian Center for the Arts (CCA) 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, derived from Mr. Cafesjian’s own extensive collection of contemporary art. Having celebrated its grand opening in November 2009, CCA continues to exhibit unique works of modern art and offers a diverse program of visiting lecturers, films, concerts, and numerous educational initiatives for children and adults.