Entering Jerusalem
Vagan Ananyan "Entering Jerusalem" (2002)
Art of Vahan Ananyan

For several years (1980-1987), while he was in the process of deepening and honing his technique, Vahan Ananyan participated in numerous group exhibitions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Odessa. These were followed by three solo exhibitions in Tallinn, 1987, 1991, and 1993, which cemented his reputation as a visionary, with his own style of painting.

Vahan had always been attracted to Odessa, a city of multi-layered artistic tradition. In 1996, his first personal exhibition opened in Odessa, followed by six exhibitions in 1998, 1999, and 2002. Vahan’s works from the last exhibition were included in the Golden Almanac of Odessa.

The visionary art of Vahan Ananyan is characterized by multiple variations of symbolic images. A unique combination of the abstract and the representational, his work is endowed with a peculiar language of powerful metaphors.

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Vahan Ananyan’s art on FB: https://www.facebook.com/kilpvahanananyan/

About the Author:

Vahan Ananyan
Vahan Ananyan
Yerevan, Armenia / Odessa, Ukraine

Vahan Ananyan was born on June 22, 1959, in Yerevan. He started painting in early childhood. He studied drawing, composition, and painting while studying in the workshop of Sergey Stepanyan, a famous Armenian sculptor. Already in 1977, Vahan held the first solo exhibition in Yerevan. It was followed by two more exhibitions, in 1978 and 1979. These exhibitions established his reputation as a master of his craft. In 1994, he moved to Odessa, where he was to have seven solo exhibitions of his works. In 2005, he was invited to and participated in the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Florence. He died on December 18, 2006, in Odessa, after a protracted illness. His ashes are buried in three cities – Yerevan, Tallinn, and Odessa. 2007 saw a posthumous exhibition of his paintings, which presented two main periods of his work – his Tallinn period and his Odessa period.

Vagan Ananyan
Bookshelf
by Alexis Levitin

In this collection of 34 short stories, author Alexis Levitin, travel set in hand, takes the reader on a journey across several continents – and even into space – exploring the joys of chess and its effect on the lives of those who play.

by Art Beck

A collection of essays and reviews by Art Beck. “These pieces are selected from a steady series of essays and reviews I found myself publishing in the late aughts of the still early century.”

by Nikolai Zabolotsky

A collection of early poems by Zabolotsky, translated into English by Dmitri Manin. “Dmitri Manin’s translations retain the freshness of Zabolotsky’s vision.” – Boris Dralyuk

by Aleksandr Kabanov

A book of wartime poems by Alexandr Kabanov, one of Ukraine’s major poets, fighting for the independence of his country by means at his disposal – words and rhymes.

by Mark Budman

Every character in these twenty-two interlinked stories is an immigrant from a place real or imaginary. (Magic realism/immigrant fiction.)

by Andrey Kneller

In this collection, Andrey Kneller has woven together his own poems with his translations of one of the most recognized and celebrated contemporary Russian poets, Vera Pavlova.

Videos
Three Questions. A Documentary by Vita Shtivelman
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Poetry Reading in Honor of Brodsky’s 81st Birthday
Length: 1:35:40