On July 12, 2022, the Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran will open the exhibition DIALOGUE of the well-known contemporary artist Jean Boghossian, co-chair of the Boghossian Foundation. The exhibition is curated by the famous Italian art critic Bruno Corà.
The exhibition is unique because for the first time contemporary art will be displayed next to ancient manuscripts at the Matenadaran. The core of both collections is the book, through which it became possible to create a bridge that connects the works of a contemporary artist with medieval manuscripts. Boghossian’s numerous works in the form of books dialogue with the manuscripts kept and exhibited at the Matenadaran and are presented harmoniously side by side.
The peculiarity of Boghossian’s art is the use of fire in his artworks. Fire is Boghossian’s artistic language of choice, with which he works on canvas, paper, books, and plastics. In his paintings and drawings, Boghossian uses different multimedia including watercolor, charcoal, oil, pigments and acrylic paint.
The following series of artworks will be represented at the exhibition: Livres-objet brulés (2012-2020), Exultet (2014-2016), Fans (2014-2020), Livres reliés (2012-2020), Abstract Writing (2016-2021), Sculptures (2007-2020), and other artworks.
This exhibition provides a new experience to represent the old and the new under one roof, to show that the book summarizing the memory of humanity and its heritage can be presented in different artistic ways.
The DIALOGUE exhibition will be open to visitors until October 8, 2022.
Jean Boghossian is an abstract multidisciplinary artist whose recent artworks all bear, at different degrees, traces of burn degradation. It is through the process of willful damage with an invasive and rather violent method (fire), that Boghossian continuously searches for harmony. Conscious that one will never completely tame the chaotic move of flames and smoke, he enters the fire dance and moves along with the blaze until he chooses to stop the process. This is where he feels the right balance has been reached.
Born in Aleppo in 1949, Boghossian comes from a family of jewelers for whom he worked while studying Economics and Sociology at University of Saint-Joseph in Beirut. In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War forced Boghossian to leave the country and settle in Belgium. Over three decades ago, Boghossian decided to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts in Boitsfort, Brussels, while continuing to oversee the family business. In 1992, together with his brother and father he created the Boghossian Foundation. Globally, Boghossian is one of the few artists who experiments by applying fire and smoke to various works.