Arto Tchakmakchian (, (26 June 1933 – 1 October 2019) was a Canadian-Armenian sculptor and painter, a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

. He was awarded by the Armenian Order of Honor in 2015.

Biography

Arto (Harutyun) Tchakmakchian's father was a bookshop owner and a friend of

Vahan Malezian Vahan Malezian (, in Sulina, Romania - 4 May 1967 in Nice, France) was an Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia ...

. Arto was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1933 and studied at Nubarian National College in Heliopolis, then in 1946 his family repatriated to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. He began his professional studies at the age of 15 at the Art School of Panos Terlemezian. In 1962 he won first prize at the International Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition in Prague for his sculpture ''Reclining Figure". Won first prize for his composition "Monument to the Victims of Hiroshima'' in a competition organized by Moscow Peace Committee. The work was given by the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to the City of Hiroshima in 1964. In 1969 he was recipient of the Armenian Youth Union golden medal for his works ''Mother'' and ''Arno Babajanyan'' which were purchased by the State Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow. The same year Tchakmakchian appeared in

Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (, , February 21, 1937 – December 29, 2009) was a Soviet filmmaker and cinematographer who made significant contribution to world cinema with the documentary films ''Parajanov: The Last Spring'' and ''Seasons''. He is considere ...

's suppressed film ''The Color of Armenian Land'' along with

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Iosifovich Parajanov (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Parajanov was born to ...

(imprisoned in 1973) and

Minas Avetisyan Minas Avetisyan (, July 20, 1928 — February 24, 1975) was an Armenian painter. Biography Minas Avetisyan was born in the village of Jajur, Armenia. His mother, Sofo, was a daughter of the priest from Kars. His father, Karapet, was a smith f ...

(assassinated in 1975). Since 1964 academic

Artem Alikhanian Artem Alikhanian (; ; 24 June 1908 – 25 February 1978) was a Soviet physicist of Armenian origin, one of the founders and first director of the Yerevan Physics Institute, a correspondent member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union ( ...

became one of the main supporters of Tchakmaktchian's art. In 1972

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled ("strongly ...

while in Yerevan visited his studio. In 1984 Tchakmaktchian won First Prize in the Wilfrid Pelletier Competition in Montreal for his bust of the competition's namesake. The work is on permanent display in the entrance hall of

Place des Arts frame, View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the right. Place des Arts () is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Q ...

in Montreal. His works have also been exhibited at notable museums internationally, notably in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. A notable exhibition was held at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Headquarters in Paris in 2010.

Awards

Arto Tchakmakchian's awards and acknowledgements included: * 2004 "Order of Movses Khorenatsi", Armenia * 2009 "Letter of Recognition" by the Minister of Culture, Communications and Feminine Condition of

Quebec Government The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. ministers of the Crown) and the non-political staff within each ...

* 2009 Medal of "Naregatsi" by the University of California in Los Angeles * 2015 Order of Honor, ArmeniaArto Tchakmakchian: Rebirth, CMF
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Gallery

Image:Armenian sphinx.JPG, Armenian sphinx (Arus), Yerevan, 1963

References

External links

* dead link as of 16 Dec 2023
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute

Tchakmakchian
in

's film ''The Color of Armenian Land'' 1933 births 2019 deaths Artists from Yerevan Armenian painters 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Egyptian people of Armenian descent Canadian people of Armenian descent Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 20th-century Canadian sculptors Egyptian emigrants to the Soviet Union Soviet emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists {{Canada-sculptor-stub