Տ Ա Ր Ա Գ Ի Ր Ն Ե Ր Ն Ո Ւ Ե Ր Ա Զ Ո Ղ Ն Ե Ր Ը . E X I L E S A N D D R E A M E R S
186 printmaking and graphic design relate Der-Markarian to a long lineage of French- Armenian artists who worked in book art – an important contribution to French culture in which Der-Markarian left a notable mark .
Der Markarian ’ s art was also driven by an attraction to storytelling . The serigraphic triptych Grief exemplifies this ‘ dramaturgial ’ quality . Focusing on the theme of suffering , the disturbing image is made up of three consequent frames , like shots in a roll of photographic film . The petrified figures appear to be surrounded by flames , witnesses to some unimaginable violence raging behind them . Referencing the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide , the work seeks to relate experiences , which are beyond representation – an imperative inspired by Francisco Goya and Pablo Picasso , who used painting as a way of making sensible the human capacity for destructiveness . In this regard , Grief is an early attempt by an Armenian artist to represent the collective trauma of the Genocide in allegorical terms . It is not incidental , then , that it recalls Francis Bacon ’ s expressionist painting , while also evoking religious art : a chilling ' icon ' for the twentieth century .
Following in Picasso ’ s footsteps , Der- Markarian began to produce glazed ceramics at the end of the 1980s . ' One cannot dominate pottery as we dominate a canvas . It is the earth , the water , and the fire that commands ', the artist stated . Looking at the schematic and naive faces on his ceramic plates and vases , one can ' t help but see an echo of the medieval
reliefs in Akhtamar and Armenian miniature painting . These were important visual sources for Der-Markarian , who is known to have used the ‘ Targmanchats ’ Gospel miniatures painted by Gregory in 1232 , as the inspiration behind his murals for Église Saint-Nicolas in Rochesde-Condrieu . ( AE , VG )
Bibliography Shahen Khachatryan , pp . 109-110 ; Marielle Dupessey , ‘ The Work of Maurice Der Markarian ’, Vienna News , July , 1993 ; Michel Bouvard , Der Markarian , Reflexx , Vienna , 1993
© Cafesjian Museum Foundation