[Евгений]

Born 03.04.1922 in Tbilisi, Georgia in the family of the famous Armenian artist Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bazhbeuk-Melikian. In 1944 he graduated from art college. P. Terlemezian in Yerevan, and in 1951 the Moscow Art Institute. Surikov. After finishing his studies at the Institute Lavinia worked on the mosaic panel in the Moscow subway under the leadership of the People's Artist of the USSR, PD Korin.

Читать дальше... 

At art L.Bazhbeuk-Melikyan very influenced by the work of her father - Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikian and Saryan. Her works are connected by the traditions of Russian realistic school and the national color of Armenian art. Director, National Center of aesthetic education, art critic Henry Igitian said about the work of the artist at the opening of her solo exhibition in Yerevan in the Union of Artists of Armenia in October 2007: "Many artists in the beginning of his career writing a good picture, but over time their work is becoming more dull and uninteresting. But Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan is not among these artists. On the contrary, her recent work is even more profound and strong ". Armenian art historian, former director of the National Gallery Shahen Khachatryan noted that the objects and their beauty has always been the focus Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikian. Mariam Bazhbeuk-Melikyan, daughter of the artist, noted that the exhibited paintings show interesting psychological Valais, our beautiful landscapes of Armenia, still lifes: "Now only the rare artist focuses on still lifes. We so often pass by the objects around us and things and not pay attention to their beauty. And see the beauty in everything and be able to portray it - this is a special gift. "
Member of the Russia Academy of Arts
People's Artist of Armenian SSR
Honored Artist of Armenian SSR (1967)
 Solo Exhibitions
01.10.2008 -14.10.2008 - the Union of Artists of Armenia, Yerevan
10.04.2007 - 06.05.2007 - in Russia Academy of Fine Arts, Moscow
-------------------------------------------------- -----------------
  Evgraf DEATH
At first glance, these quivering, white, knows where and why the angels appeared to the artist's still lifes look strange among the ordinary and everyday, it is not "angels" and poetic objects - teapots, empty bottles, bowls, vases and dishes of fruit, jugs and ceramic supports. But these angels, as it symbolizes the divine purpose of these things, illumination of the human mind, talent, hands, and labor that created them at the dawn of civilization, and they are part of what we often forget. This is what we are reminded touching angels.

Now they took off at an exhibition of works of real members of Russia Academy of Arts, People's Artist of Armenian SSR Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikian (1922 - 2005), opened in the halls of the Academy Prechistenke. Presented by the 38 still-lifes, portraits and landscapes, executed in the last decade of her life. Then full-scale world for her was limited to a few familiar items in the shop. But these still lifes, she was able to put all the brilliant talent, the ability to disclose the "humanity" are objects, fill them with energy, strength, harmony, to evaluate their high and wisely. In these paintings the artist as a summary of his long career, which was rich and varied.

Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan was born in Tbilisi. The first teachers were her father, the artist Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikyan, and Martiros Saryan. In 1941 - 1944 years she worked at Yerevan Art College. In 1951 she graduated from the Moscow Art Institute named after VI Surikov. Then she worked in the studio PD Korin, participated in the creation of mosaic panels at the metro station "Komsomolskaya". Then returned to Armenia.

In his works, presented at today's exhibition, Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan avoids any scene composition and color showiness, external showiness, artificial complexity - in the plot, style, color system. All very simple, clear, stable, compositionally integral and interrelated. Despite the fact that the painting depicts a dozen times with different subjects. "Everything should be intact! - Liked to talk Lavinia. I sought this imaginative and stylistic unity with great skill, grace and meaningfulness in still lifes, and in portraits. In the women's images - attractiveness, beauty, tenderness, affection, in the male - hardness, strength of character, steadfastness. With these approaches to nature all the portraits are very different, highly individual. Moreover Lavinia shows people her way, familiar.

The same subjects are close to her still lifes. Obviously, they have long been part of the interior of the shop and have become a necessary part of the life of the artist, her life, character, affections. Moreover, Lavinia relationship to reality, even if this reality is represented by only a few mundane things. Let ceramics crumpled tablecloth. All these things are not accidental, not incidental, they are the very image of Lavinia, the image of her creativity. Even if not above them hovers a visible angel, he felt for the artist to these subjects to life, which they embody.

Characteristic feature of still lifes Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikyan - their remarkable plasticity, almost sculptural tangibility. This is achieved by combinations of color, golden-red, golden-brown, blue or green tones. Clear, clear, texture, without any blurry shades and nuances. Each color has a definite shape, a definite meaning and purpose of the plastic, the integrity and constructive.

Often Lavinia includes a plastic design image Maillol sculptures, Sarra Lebedeva, Dmitry Shahovskoy, T. Sokolova, sometimes their portraits. She sometimes refers to ancient samples - a textbook of white marble torso, statues, head of Venus, the Greek mask. This is not just visual formality plastic painting - how it relates to the great images of the old with the modern art of reading.

This sculptural, both external and deep inside, still lives in Lavinia - feature of her letters, on which its work recognizably immediately.

Sometimes white sculptures as if they become "angels" in her paintings, giving a definite meaning. High Standards, particularly of ancient art in any way is not contrasted with ordinary things - ceramic cups, bottles, vases, teapots, tablecloths, but instead, put it on equal terms in the art, emphasizing that all of them - and a magnificent sculpture, and pottery cup - works created by the thought, talent, labor and human hands.

Sometimes the angel of illumination, the angel of inspiration comes from an ancient painting. Lavinia is clearly shown in one of his best works, "Self-portrait on the background of the fresco." Here invisible "angel" and pointed to one of the sources of creativity of the artist - an old Christian painting. A Buddha image on the decorative coverlet says Lavinia attention to the mysterious East. Fruit on crumpled tablecloth - an echo of the axiomatic works by Cezanne ...

In art Lavinia oddly mixed, and the Armenian national tradition, and full-scale Russian realistic art, and the charm of French Impressionism, and antiquity. And here before us - a completely original, independent, anyone not like the painter Lavinia Bazhbeuk-Melikian. And there in her later works nor weariness, nor sorrow, nor detachment. It is brave, wise, is committed to the art of love and life.