Garen Bedrossian - Artist Biography
Originally from Yerevan in Armenia, Garen Bedrossian received his artistic training at the Fine Arts Institute of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), where the emphsais was on "social realism." Desiring to free himself from the ideological and political constraints prevalent at the time, he chose to emigrate to Canada in 1987 and established residence in Montreal where he resumed his artistic endeavors. Bedrossian's education provided him with considerable theoretical and practical resources. He makes full use of them in the elaboration of his work. One must also bear in mind the artist's Armenian ancestry, as he cannot but carry within himself traces of his people's tragic history. Bedrossian is a figurative artist with an expressionist bend. The theme of his art is man, or rather mankind. The main body of his current works consists of poetic images and sculptural situations where a person's uniqueness is challenged by his quest for identity or social belonging. Next to these highly dramatic works, Bedrossian has produced a number of sculptures on the theme of flight, done in a more playful way. On top of vertical steel circles, a naked man, his arms spread wide, is airborne like a bird. These works of a dreamlike nature are shaped in a transparent and seductive aesthetic mode. In his paintings, Bedrossian gives poetic significance to what is essentially an abstract structure. The deeply felt psychological statements permeating his creative production are Bedrossian's significant contribution to the domain of contemporary art. Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2019: Inside the Beehive: Art of G. Bedrossian, Tufenkian Fine Arts, Glendale, CA 2018-19: Inside the Beehive, The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis 2017: Reflections, National Center of Aesthetics, Yerevan, Armenia 2016: De Pierre et De Miel, Galerie Éric Devlin, Montreal 2015: War And Peace, Centre des arts et de la culture de Dieppe, Dieppe, NB War And Peace, Modern Art Museum of Yerevan, Armenia 2010: Vital Movements, Modern Art Museum of Yerevan, Armenia 2008: Between Heaven and Earth, Galerie d’art d’Outremont, Montreal 2006: Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum, Southfield, Michigan 2005: Passage, Harvest Gallery, Glendale, California 2004: Microcosm-Macrocosm, HAN Art Gallery, Montreal 2001: Passage, HAN Art Gallery, Montreal 1997: Tour de la Bourse, Montreal The TPM Art Gallery, Toronto 1995: Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum, Southfield, Michigan 1992: Galerie Simon Blais, Montreal Public Art Commissions: 2018-19 Sculpture of Sara Corning, commissioned by Sara Corning Society, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (Installation September 14, 2019) 2017-18 Commissioned sculpture, Gift for the City of Montreal’s 375th anniversary from the Armenian Community of Montreal, Ville St-Laurent (In progress) 2018-19 Sculptures Commissioned and installed in the City of Yerevan - Donation to the collection of The Modern Art Museum of Yerevan, Armenia Selected Collections: The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Modern Art Museum of Yerevan, Yerevan, Armenia National Library of Canada, Ottawa National Library and archives of Quebec, Montreal National Gallery of Armenia, Erevan, Armenia Art Palace, Cracow, Pologne Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum, Southfield, Michigan, USA Armenian Cultural Center, Toronto Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo, Japan André Ibghy Architect, Montreal Nortel Networks, Kanata, Ontario Armenian Prelacy of Canada, Montreal YBC ArArAt - Pernod Ricard, Erevan, Armenia Elliot Lake Center for Development, Elliot Lake, Ontario Westfield State College Foundation, Westfield, Massachusetts, USA
Artist Specialization: Bronze and stone sculpture - Bedrossian's work, which he qualifies as semi-figurative, has been shown in museums and galleries from Norway to Japan. His latest sculpture was unveiled on Sept. 14, 2019 on the site of the Yarmouth County Museum and Archives in Nova Scotia. It represents two refugee children with Sara Corning, a nurse from North Chegoggin, N.S. who from 1919 to 1930, worked in the Middle East with the American Red Cross and Near East Relief effort. Corning spent years helping to rescue and care for orphans in Bedrossian’s native Armenia, Turkey and Greece in what is now referred to as the Armenian Genocide. In his more personal work, Bedrossian explores the relationship of man and nature, whether in paintings or sculptures.
