Robert Elibekian presents his “Crucifixion” to restoration of Odzun Church

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. People’s Artists of the Republic of Armenia Robert Elibekian presented his painting titled “Crucifixion” to “Philosopher Catholicos John of Odzun” foundation. The painting was created yet in 1991 and has a unique symbolical meaning. In a conversation with “Armenpress” Robert Elibekian stated that he was glad to make that decision, as he spent his childhood and young years in Odzun.

“I am closely connected with Odzun,” Robert Elibekian noted.

The Director of “Philosopher Catholicos John of Odzun” foundation Vanush Shermazanyan stated that Robert Elibekian is not just a merited master of his work, but one of the patriarchs of the Armenian painting.

Robert Elibekian was born into a family of artists in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1941. He moved to Yerevan in 1956 and graduated from Yerevan's Institute of Drama & Fine Arts in 1969. His oils, pastels, sanguine (conté or red chalk) and ink works form an impressive oeuvre, and he has had numerous exhibitions in several countries, both as an individual and as part of a group. His paintings have been influenced by his academic background, and in his creation of decors and costumes for film, theatre and opera, like the sketches of a stage designer, he reveals an imaginary world populated by mysterious, fantastic and elusive characters central to our dreams and fantasies.

Elibekian has created numerous set designs and costumes for ballets, operas. films, and plays, such as "Traviata," "Paiazio," "Gayane," "Andouni," and "Don Quixote." In 1982, he received the highest distinction of his country: The Order of Merit of Armenia. His creations can be found in several museums and major collections: The Museum of Modern Art in Armenia, The Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, The National Gallery in St. Petersburg, Tretyakov Gallery of Moscow, The Alex Manoogian Museum in Detroit, and in the collections of the White House and the Élysée Palace. Robert Elibekian has had many solo exhibitions in Yerevan, Lithuania, Moscow, Beirut, and Paris.