Cafesjian Museum of Contemporary Art
From Armeniapedia.org
Cafesjian Museum of Contemporary Art
Gerard L. Cafesjian Museum of Contemporary Art is located in central Yerevan.
The construction of the museum was lunched in late May of 2005. Madlene Minassian, the head of the Cafesjian Museum Foundation press office recalled that that the Cafesjian museum Foundation selected New York Architect David Hotson to design the Gerard L. Cafesjian Museum of Contemporary Art.
David Hotson Architect, is known for the following projects: the design of the United Nations Offices for the Secretary General; the design of the new facilities for the media art organization, Eyebeam Atelier, located in West Chelsea in Manhattan; the design of the residence of architect Santiago Calatrava; and acting as Principal Architect working with designer Maya Lin for the Museum of African Art in Manhattan, New York.
Location of the museum, known as the Cascade, was planned to be fully renovated at a cost of $3-5mln, or 20% of the total $25 mln the Cafesjian Foundation had thus far allocated for the project.
During the official launch of the construction eight large-size sculptures set up near the Cascade, were presented to the audience.
The design treated the principal Museum building as an extension of the Cascade, completing an animated pathway linking Tamanyan Park to the Monument by exterior stairway and interior escalators. The Museum building was planned to provide a public plaza, ornamental pool, sculpture courts, a cafe and an exterior cinema all accessible to passers-by as well as visitors to the Museum itself.
A prominent glass tower, housing the Cafesjian glass collection, created a vivid emblem for the Museum on the skyline and compositionally balances the cinema screen while preserving the central visual access of the Cascade. The Museum design organized major circulation paths to create framed vistas of important symbolic elements of the surrounding cityscape, such as the Mother Armenia Monument and Mount Ararat.
Minasian said David Hotson suggested that a third building -the Statue of Independence, be erected. In the two years of its work on the Cascade complex the Foundation has repaired 9 halls, the fountains and water removing system, has put into the action the moving stairway and installed public toilets in the area. Some 10,000 people make use of the moving stairway daily that provides a shortest travel from downtown Yerevan to northern quarters of the capital city.
At the core of the Museum’s permanent collection will be The Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection of Art. It features the definitive collection of major works by renowned artists Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova. Their monumental sculptures have pushed the limits of the glass medium and taken the studio movement into the realm of fine art. Their accomplishment remains unchallenged. Important works by world famous artist Dale Chihuly are part of the studio glass collection, which includes artists from many countries.
All media are represented in the Cafesjian Collection including large-scale works in bronze by Lynn Chadwick, Barry Flanagan, and Fernando Botero. Included are works by Joseph Albers, John Altoon, Milton Avery, Howard Ben Tre, Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Nicki de Saint Phalle, Jim Dine, Jean Dufy, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Adolf Gottlieb, David Hockey, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Franz Klein, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miro, Louise Nevelson, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, David Sultan, Wayne Thiebaud, Maurice Utrillo, Victor Vasarely, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman. Armenian artists represented include Hamalbasanian, Hovsepian, Papanian, Vartanian, Vartanyan, and Zadikian.
The permanent displays will also include a broad range of prominent 20th century pieces including both paintings and sculpture. Additionally, the museum will host a program of world-class traveling exhibitions.
Since its inception in Armenia, as for May 2005, the Foundation has invested $50 million in Armenia, including such projects as alternative energy sources, real property, television, press and banking.
Sources
- CAFESJIAN FOUNDATION TO LAUNCH CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM CONSTRUCTION IN LATE MAY, Armenpress,
YEREVAN, MAY 10
| Whos here now: Members 0 Guests 0 Bots & Crawlers 1 |
