[Arthur777]

"That represents B. Elibekyan - it is rather a dream of Tiflis such as it was in childhood memories, when the streets were spacious homes - higher colors - brighter and smells - penetrating, how he sees us through the veil of time. This is a city that has become a beautiful legend. Elibekyan gives this legend properties of reality. "
Erast Kuznetsov

"The cycle of paintings devoted to the old Tiflis, I created with pleasure and a great love - they are an expression of enthusiasm and boundless love towards Tiflis - the city of my childhood."
Vagarshak Elibekyan

Throughout his life he gave to the service of the Armenian culture. Starting a creative way to Tbilisi Armenian Youth Theatre, having served for many years director of the Tbilisi Armenian Theater Stepan Shaumian, he began to paint seriously until the age of 63 years and for four years wrote nearly 150 pictures! The artist has created the universe, will revive in their entire life paintings tangible memories of Tbilisi - the city - a myth town mystery fantastic attraction that seems to never quite be solved ...

Each of the artists who depict him - his Tiflis. Vagarshak Elibekyan created a whole universe of his memories about this city - such good, alive and tangible that you can fall in love with the city, has seen his picture, without even visiting it. His view of hindsight - is a look through those years and the prism of memory. He revives and resurrects all that was decades ago - the city of his childhood and youth, lives and breathes with bright colors, familiar silhouettes and ... even sounds.

Читать дальше... 

Drawing was his vocation. He was deeply absorbed in his childhood and youth, and had no doubt that would become an artist. Son Sergeant Tiflis Amkar locksmiths Arutyunov, he graduated from a three-year art studio at Ayratune - famous House of Armenian Culture in Tbilisi. But fate, eventually bringing it to the easel, initially ordered by - other: he, a young man who has completed three-year course of painting, was asked to become director of the Armenian Youth Theatre in Tbilisi, and he, without hesitation, agreed. In front was a whole life, and then Elibekyan never imagined that it would delay the maelstrom of the theater so much that of the brush and paint will have to forget for many years. Sometimes, in fits and starts, he still painted still lifes. I tried myself and as a theater artist.

But all these attempts, despite their success, do not bring about any real satisfaction. He felt in his unspent energy of creativity.

Even in a very mature age, he was again drawn irresistibly to an easel. Having bought the canvas and paint, in a burst of inspiration, he painted a picture, which revived a piece of old Tiflis, then jotted down a few sketches. Sons who were by then already recognized artists, bestowed their highest praise. Artist and waited, and feared their assessment: once, years ago, Elibekyan - Senior already showed them my experience ... What he has created now, it was quite unlike what he had done before. 63 - year Elibekyan finally found his own style and special theme - resurrected in the canvases of the world of his memories, the world of Armenian - Georgian town, which has always belonged to his heart ... Encouraged by the praise, he began to work with renewed vigor. He created a Tiflis, who did not get lost among other images of this city, which has become a true source of inspiration for many Armenian artists.

The whole cycle of his remarkable paintings - a unique pictorial memoir, which details the real life of Tiflis those years merged with memories of living in the memory of the human heart, which the city formed. They are complemented naive view of the child and the insight and attention to detail typical of a mature artist who gave many years of theater. Theatricality paintings Elibekyana obvious. All of them - story scenes, which can be drawn on their faces.

Love for Old Tiflis - is the overwhelming feeling has led brush mature Elibekyana. The most unprepossessing corner of Tiflis highlights of this love. Come to life at home, people, objects, each of which may be a long time to examine it. The pieces of beef, leather slippers, delicious fish, colorful socks ... He knows how to pass a living movement and the dynamics of the minimal means of expression.

In his youth, aged 26 - years old, when he was director of Youth Theatre, Elibekyan was commissioned to design one of the areas of Tiflis to the holiday on May 1. The idea was born instantly: he offered to decorate the area under the old. Picturesquely decorated cars, carriages and six camels were carrying performers dressed in costumes of the old tiflistsev. They were joined by townspeople, still dresses in costumes for holidays kintos, karachogeli and mokalakov. The carnival procession, under applause tiflistsev moved from the Young People's Theatre to the meeting, and thence to the central square. On the way to her joining the organ-grinders, fishermen with nets, hawkers with trays full of fruit ... fishermen portrayed gambling fishing. Someone was not looking in the procession and was immediately punished smart street thieves. Everything was played so natural that the police intervened, and had to prove that all this - only skillfully played out a theatrical act.

Starting to write, the artist was in a hurry hurry throw accumulated over a lifetime memories.

Songs of his paintings gradually became more complicated, he inhabited them more numerous characters. "He can put on a little space of a hundred pieces and make it so that just amazed how he succeeded," - said the pictures her father, Robert Elibekyan. In fact, all the "massive" scenes from the life of Tiflis (Ksenoba "," Market "," Bazaz - Khan, "" Anthem of the old city ") - a dance of shapes, merged in the eternal dance of life. Each of them, despite the fact that its specificity for sharp, drawn up in detail and with all its miniature plastic working on the general mood of the painting.

Vagharshak Elibekyan he painted cycles. In 1987, the 275 - year anniversary of Sayat - Nova, he dedicated the exhibition, which was represented by a series of paintings devoted to the great ashug. They recreated a scene from the life of the poet's life and poetry is simply inseparable from Tiflis: "Sayat - Nova sings in the quarter Narikala", "Sayat - Nova at home with his wife Marmar", "In the yard of King Heraclius," "Monk Sayat - Nova Sanahin. Many of the paintings in this series later decorated café Sayat - Nova.

Tbilisi has always been a center of Armenian culture, and on the canvases Vagarshak Elibekyana recreated all of the dear Tiflis Armenians place the old city - House of Armenian Culture on Terian, the newspaper "Mshak in a caravan - shed Artsruni, home of the classics of Armenian literature Tumanyan, Raffi, Nar - Dos , Theatre Araksyana in Avlabar ... Glamour Tiflis on his canvases spilled everywhere - in selected situations, poses miniature figures of its inhabitants, even to accurately recreate the signs of the old city, with their delicate pure Tiflis humor: "skins thing," "Welcome Vaso", "Metal Workshop Arutin Elibekyantsa" "Spirit will not go away, galubchik me," Look dear "... The world Elibekyana lit warmth and kindness, in each painting - light, goodness and optimism, transmitted to anyone who is attached to this world.

He found his special plastics and technology: paint on his canvases laid sometimes thickly, sometimes less, so that the general background of the picture seems almost transparent. Some canvases dominated by blue, painted in lyrical and nostalgic mood - "Winter", "Sunny", "Seller yoghurt Gigla" ... And they are all highlighted by the fact the deeper the light that has nothing to do with purely technical artistic methods - the light that comes from the depths of the soul of the artist, creating a magical charm of his paintings.

"These works - a kind of theater memories. In performances that put him on the stage, so much simplicity and wisdom, manpower imagination and vitality that all this unhoped - open Vagarshak Elibekyanom country last appears to be a truly poetic revelation, "- wrote about the artist's art critic Alexander Kamensky.

Times change and we change with them - "Temporis mutantur, et nos mutantur in illis". In the cities, as well as in humans, is what is eternal and timeless.
It is a certain aura, a special spirit that makes them different from each other ... Old Tbilisi - one of those special, alas, leaving the cities, which went on from now on eternal life on canvases Vagarshak Elibekyana.