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Robert Elibekian was one of the foremost masters of Armenian “national modernism” of the second half of the 20th century. Born in Tiflis in 1941 into the family of the distinguished theatre figure and artist Vagharshak Elibekian, he settled permanently in Yerevan in 1960. In 1965, he graduated from the Yerevan State Institute of Fine Arts and Theatre and embarked on an active exhibition career, presenting his work in Armenia, across the Soviet republics, and internationally.
Since 1970, the artist has held nearly two dozen solo exhibitions. His art has consistently attracted the attention of art historians and collectors and has earned international recognition. Works by the master are held in the collections of distinguished museums and official residences in Armenia, Russia, the United States, and across Europe.
Elibekian emerged as an artist during the years of national awakening in the 1960s and 1970s, when the Matenadaran had become a kind of “pilgrimage site” for many Armenian artists. Under the conditions of Soviet atheism, Armenian spiritual art offered them an alternative source of inspiration, fostering a renewed discovery of national identity, artistic thought, and faith.
The spiritual dimension is central to Elibekian’s art. He creates symbolic and mystical spaces in which the stage is often conceived in the form of a church sanctuary or arch, while the backstage evokes an infinite succession of mirror reflections, and the figures themselves frequently resemble angels. Within this realm of carnivalesque transformation, the theatrical stage and the ecclesiastical altar converge as a setting for mystery—a sacred ritual unfolding in space. The inner light radiating from within the canvas is not physical in origin, but spiritual.
This exhibition represents the first attempt to bring works of contemporary art into dialogue with the illuminations of the Matenadaran’s ancient manuscripts. This juxtaposition reveals the continuities within Armenia’s spiritual and artistic heritage, affirming the living connections between the medieval and the contemporary, the manuscript and the canvas, faith and modern artistic thought.
The exhibition features a selection of the artist’s paintings, graphic works, and works of decorative art created between 1972 and 2017, drawn from the family collection.
Curators:
Lilit Sargsyan, Art Historian
Yvette Tajarian, Head of the Matenadaran Museum, Art Historian
Areg Elibekian, Artist