 Hrair
Diarbekirian known as HRAIR
I- Biography:
Born in Beirut
Studied Art at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA)
1964 - 3 Golden Medals for his tapestries for the presidential Palace
in Beirut
1965 - Gold Medal Sursock Museum, Lebanon
1971 - Gold Medal, Rome, Italy
1989 - Prize of the European Excellency, Paris, France
Private
Collection:
- Queen Elizabeth
the 2nd of England
- King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia
- King Faysal Bin AbdulAziz of Saudi Arabia
- King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan.
- Prince Rainier of Monaco
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, Kuwait
- Sheikha Hossa Saad Al-Sabah, Kuwait
- Anthony Quinn
- Georges Pepard
- Liza Minelli
- Kirk Douglas
Exhibition
since 1961 - 2007
1- Lebanon:
- 1961 Gallery One
- 1961 & 1965 First Prize, Sursock Museum, Beirut
- 1967 Amateur Gallery
- 1970 Jadis Gallery
- 1973 Boutros Gallery
- 1974 I.D. Gallery
- 1986 & 1987 Epreuve d'artiste Gallery
- 1989 Alwane Gallery
- 1990 Square Design Gallery
- 1990 Art Muntada Gallery
- 1991 Art Station Gallery
- 1992 International Art Center
- 1993, 1994 & 1996 Rochane Gallery
- 1995 Art et Valeurs Gallery
- 2003 Intercontinental Phoenicia Hotel
- 2006 Beirut Solidere Art Gallery (Pièce Unique)
2- Jeddah:
- 1976 Kandara Hotel Exh.
- 1982 Pan Arab Gallery
- 1984 Redec Plaza Gallery
- 1985 & 2000 Rochane Gallery
- 1986 & 1988 House of Arab Art
- 2000 & 2001 Arabesque Gallery
- 2004 Rochane Gallery
3- Riyadh:
- 1975 Zahrat Al Shark Gallery
- 1978 International Hotel
- 1982 Intercontinental Hotel
- 1985 Zagrafa Gallery
4- Kuwait:
- 1980 Abdullah Al Salem Hall
- 1993 & 1998 Safir Hotel by Mrs Maryam Al Issa
5- Bahrain:
- 1999 Al Fayrouz Art Gallery
6- U.A.E.:
- 1997 The Art Shop
- 2005 Green Art Gallery
7- Jordan:
- 1999 Hamouraby Gallery
- 2005 Al Anada Gallery
8- Damascus,
Syria:
- 1991, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2004 & 2006 Al Sayed Art Gallery
9- Paris:
- 1963 Gerard Mourgues Gallery
- 1964 Amateur Gallery
- 1973, 1977 & 1981 Turzi Gallery
- 1987 Gray d'Albion Gallery, Cannes
- 1995 & 1997 Matignon Gallery
10- Brazil:
- 1967 Gold Medal, Sao Paolo Biannual
- 1968 Minas Gerais Gallery
- 1969 & 1979 Bonino Gallery, Rio De Janeiro
- 1972 & 1983 Chelsea Gallery
- 1972 Jiquitti Mar Gallery
- 1969 Bonino Gallery, Buenos Aires
11- Spain:
- 1987 Don Carlos, Marbella
- 1990 European Excellency Trophy, Don Carlos Gallery
- 1992 Cristamar Gallery, Marbella
12- Greece:
- 1962 Mykonos Gallery, Athens
13- Washington:
- 1988 Myriam Art Gallery
14- New York:
- 1966 & 1999 Findlay Gallery
II-
Article
in English: (By Lamia Chahine)
From the very
beginning, Hrair's artistic career has been crowned with success
both in Lebanon and abroad, with numerous exhibitions held in Europe,
the United States, the Arab countries, and as far afield as Japan.
He has obtained the Sursock Museum Prize and that of the Palais
de la Présidence in Beirut, and also the gold medals awarded
in the Sao Paolo Biennale of 1969 and by the Italian government
in 1972.
Horse-Woman, Oil, 80 x 100 cm
Hrair's dominant theme
is the horse, symbol of male virility, strength and mastery - the
semi-mythical stallion and the centaur sprung from the legends of
Phoenicia and the ancients Orient. These are high-spirited and lively
steeds moving at a frisky trot, bucking and kicking in a whirling
gallop, alert even at rest. Often the horse is accompanied by a
"flower-woman" whose curling tresses intermingle with
the flowing spirals of his mane - an unreal doll-figure spellbound
in willing passivity as if engendered from the flanks of the horse-male
in an echo that recalls the creation of Eve.
Hrair is also a painter
of Icons - The Annunciation, The Last Supper, The Crucifixion -
influenced by Byzantine art but transposing into his own almost
fanciful idiom with an abundance of life and color.
Yet whatever
his theme, it is the rich wealth of ornament that dominates his
work - arabesques, an intertwining tracery of festooned garlands,
leafy foliage, and crisscross scroll-work that recall the moucharabiehs
or enamel work. This richness is emphasized by the choice of colors
bursting forth with violent life - oranges, greens, reds, and gold
that fill the canvas with stirring exhilaration.
III-
Articles en Français - Pages 2
►► Some
of the artist's artwork
Contact: editorial@onefineart.com
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