"I sculpt to express my feeling, which I cannot express by words. Aesthetics and beauty are part of my work, but I keep my affliction with me. Hope all of you will be impressed with my creations. A book tells a story, so does the exhibition″, says Toros.
The opening ceremony of the four-day exhibition of 26 sculptures created by the renowned Armenian sculptor Toros Rastkelenian took place on November 28, at the Ségur Hall of UNESCO. It was the artist’s first exhibition in this international cultural center. The title of the exhibition was La paix: Toros œuvre intégrale, organized in the framework of the protection and development of cultural values by UNESCO. Alberto Giacometti’s prominent sculpture The Walking Man (l'Homme qui marche) was also exhibited in the same hall.
Toros was born in Aleppo, in 1934. His roots are from Urfa city of Western Armenia. His seven-meter statue Liberated Arab Woman, holding a torch in one hand, and the spikes of wheat in the other hand, is located on one of the Aleppo's squares. One can see his works such as Simon Zavarian’s and Vahan Tekeyan’s busts, Abu Lala Mahari sculpture and others in different parts of Aleppo, where a great number of Armenians live.
In 1967, Toros settled in France, and now he lives in the city of Roman, where he creates in his huge art studio. His brass and copper-carved monuments are situated in various districts of France - Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Valence, Vienne, Saint Etienne, Roman and elsewhere, and also in Yerevan, where the bust of Sayat Nova is located on the same avenue. The artist has donated the portrait sculpture of Komitas to the Museum of the great composer in memory of Urfa's heroic battle.
I had arrived a bit earlier, and when I went inside the exhibition hall I saw the 84-year-old artist with gently smiling eyes. Walking in the hall, I watched his very Armenian and at the same time very unique and exceptional creations of universal style, which depict themes related to motherhood, womanhood, land, and roots. I approached him. A correspondent of a Russian newspaper in Paris was asking questions. There was also a Syrian-Armenian journalist. When my turn came, I asked him about the exhibited new works created in the past two years.
- In art there is no old and new, the most important is what it says. I work for my nation and struggle for the sake of my people’s cause through my art. The monuments dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide already "talk" about it. Today, our weapon is our art, and only art can save us", replied the Master.
This exhibition was organized by the permanent representations of UNESCO in Armenia and Syria in cooperation with the Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Association. Most of the more than a hundred attendees were French people and also Syrian intellectuals, artists, painters who had been familiar with the sculptor’s creations long before. After the official speeches of the organizers, the solo performance of the famed oudist, born in Aleppo, Fawaz Baker was a pleasant surprise. He first played one of the creations of the renowned Armenian violinist and kanon player Tadeos Effendi (Tadeos Ekserdjian, 1858-1913), who lived in Constantinople at the end of the 19th century. His second play was in memory of his first music teacher in Aleppo, Hovhannes Kostanyan.
At the end, the guests were treated to eastern delicious dishes in the next hall.
- L.
"Nor Harach"