An Egyptian-Armenian sculptor heads back to Egypt to hold his first solo exhibition
By Laura Kassabian
Egypt Today, Egypt
June 5 2005
Nativity in Black
June ,2005
CONTRADICTORY ART would be a somewhat fitting title for Armen Agop’s
latest exhibition, which is nothing short of an experience in
rhythmic motion and yet static composure generated by basalt objects
that seem to fluctuate as you move from one piece to the next, some
of them expressing uplifting emotions and some conveying depressing
feelings.
The overall view of the black, revolving stone bodies arranged in the
pale exhibition space is a head-spinning encounter which has the
power to capture the curiosity of viewers.
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Armen Agop’s individual basalt and granite sculptures are
fascinating; each oval or circular art piece has its own unique
character; each is designed to lead the eyes, almost instinctively,
to follow the object’s lines and finally reach a certain point,
giving the impression that they’re searching for an exit from the
composite stone bodies.
The series of lines and points play a pivotal role in these
compositions. At times the lines are sharp, with aggressive cutting
edges, whereas other pieces have more subtle, meek lines, that also
seem to lead gently to a point. The points themselves differ on many
occasions, varying from the minute and almost insignificant to other
heightened, bolder ones. You can feel a sense of entrapment inside
Armen Agop’s twirling shapes, as your eyes involuntarily set out on a
search for these points.
The pieces seem to have a life of their own. The first quick glances
at them reveal only perfect, static bodies, each one being pulled
inwards by its own inner forces, as if wishing to remain as compact
as possible. But the reality is far from that. Some pieces display a
glimpse of hope, a touch of curiosity about the happenings going on
in the surrounding space. The ones that have sharp lines and boldly
standing-out points have weak relationships with their own forms;
They too are choked by the basalt and are seeking escape. The pieces
with softer lines and points seem pleased with the way they are
sitting comfortably with less curiosity regarding the outside world.
Not all of them are as mightily stable as they seem; a viewer, in
curiosity, gently pushes one of the objects and observes as it rocks
back and forth, hence discovering a more jovial side to the dancing
bodies. The black granite pieces are arranged on square stands that
are painted in white, accentuating the contrast of both the curved
and sharp dark forms with the surroundings. It feels as though Agop
had frozen certain volumes of space, thus creating these enticing
bodies.
Armen Agop
Basalt sculptures by Armenian-Egyptian artist Armen Agop
Despite the striking, unorthodox physical attributes of the objects
with their inner and outer curves and sharp edges, they clearly yet
somewhat surprisingly transmit Sufi transcendental suggestions to the
audience.
The exhibition at the Center of Arts (Arts Palace) is Agop’s first
solo exhibition after many collective shows in Egypt, Italy, the
United States, China, Norway, Sweden and Japan. Agop felt it was only
reasonable for him to have his first solo exhibition in Cairo, where
he initially started off as a sculptor.
Born in Egypt to an Armenian family in 1969, Agop’s artistic
creativity is strongly connected to his environment. The survival of
ancient Egyptian heritage through time influenced him, in addition to
the desire of the Armenian community as a minority in Egypt, in which
he grew up, to continue and survive. It is not a coincidence that he
works with basalt, which has a strong inner gravity, is compact and
hard to work with as it stubbornly refuses to break apart. Very
similar to the qualities of basalt are Agop’s qualities as an artist
and person.
Although Agop has been living in Europe for the past five years,
where there’s more focus on the instance of expression than its past
and future, Agop refuses to give up the value of permanency that is
deeply embedded in his personality and work. Even the development of
his technique conforms to this attachment to his heritage. The shiny
surfaces of some of the stone bodies, which Agop had sculpted during
his first year in Italy, were polished using modern techniques. As
years went by, Agop discovered an ancient Egyptian technique, which
yielded stone bodies with a matte finishing which he sculpted only a
year ago during this transition from using modern technology to
depending on primitive, mostly pharaonic, techniques.
Armen Agop’s sculptures are truly worth visiting. Those whirling and
yet ironically immobile bodies can touch the emotions when viewed
through the eyes of even the most amateur of viewers.
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