Seiran Khatlamadjian

Seiran Khatlamadjian Սեյրան Խաթլամաջյան
Seiran Khatlamadjian near his fresco 1967
Born	(1937-04-20)20 April 1937 Rostov-on-Don, USSR
Died	14 September 1994(1994-09-14) (aged 57) Yerevan, Armenia
Nationality	Armenian
Known for	painter, graphic artist, illustrator, and social activist
Notable work	Red Composition (1972), 123h187, oil on canvas, USA Fairytale of Armenia (1968) x m 100h130 (property of the family of the artist) Adam and Eve (from the "Fairytale of Armenia") (1970) x m, 180h240 (property of the family of the artist) Life on the old Roman road (1966) (the family property of the artist)
Movement	Abstract, Avant-garde, and Nonconformist

Seiran Khatlamadjian (Armenian: Սեյրան Խաթլամաջյան) (April 20, 1937 - September 14, 1994) was a prominent Armenian painter, graphic artist, and social activist. He is considered as "one of the founding fathers of the Armenian abstract art" movement.

Life

Seiran Khatlamadjian born April 20, 1937 in the village of Chaltyr near Rostov-on-Don. His father and mother were dispossessed landowners. Since childhood, Seiran was fascinated by drawing and at the early age of 14 was sent to the local children's art school in Rostov-on-Don. In 1953 he entered Rostov Art College and graduated from the College in 1959 with honors. Seiran Khatlamadjian enrolled in 1959 in Yerevan Fine Arts and Theater Institute and graduated from it in 1964. Seiran Khatamaladjian's years of his student life in the capital of Armenia (1959-1964) were marked by his active involvement in social and cultural issues.

Works

File:Seyran Khatlamajyan in Yerevan in 1980 by Kaloust.jpg

Seyran Khatlamajyan in Yerevan in 1980

Initially the young artist was influenced by Martiros Saryan, but then evolved into a non-figurative style of painting. The source of his artistic inspiration in his later years was the work of Wassily Kandinsky and Arshile Gorky. In the abstract genre Seiran Khatlamadjian used as a soft, transparent tone and active and bright colors. The artist is also known for his series of "Fairytale of Armenia", which is an artistic fusion of history and mythology, reality and mystery, paganism and Christianity. Khatlamadjian demonstrated himself to be a realistic painter. He participated in many ethnographic expeditions to Armenia and painted landscapes in all its environs. In this case, all of his creative life was entirely related to Armenia, where he settled and drew several paintings which were highly respected by the public and professionals. In 1967, he became a member of the Artists' Union of Armenia. Seiran Khatlamadjian left a large number of paintings and drawings, some of which are exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), National Gallery of Armenia, Contemporary Art Museum (Yerevan), Museum of Oriental Cultures (Moscow), Gnessins Music Institute (Moscow), Rostov Regional Museum of Local History, Nonconformist Art Museum (New Jersey, USA), and in a number of state buildings in Armenia such as the Constitutional Court, Residence of President, and National Assembly. He is also in many private collections in Armenia and abroad.

Seiran Khatlamadjian took active part in the public life in Armenia and was not limited to his role as artist. With his direct participation, Khatlamadjian developed and adopted state symbols for the Republic of Armenia. He actively searched archives and studied the state emblem of the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920.) Seiran Khatlamadjian contributed to the restoration of the Armenian coat of arms which was created by the architect Alexander Tamanyan and academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Hakob Kojoyan. He has been actively campaigning for its approval as a national emblem of independent Armenia which was received and subsequently approved on April 19, 1992 by the Supreme Council of Armenia. Seiran Khatlamadjian died in September 14, 1994 and is buried in the city of Yerevan.