INTERVIEWS

Armen Agop: Contemporary Spiritual Art

Describing in his own words his obsessive process being analogous to a contemplative practice, Armen’s latest paintings—recently showcased in the Taking Time exhibition at the prestigious Flora Bigai Arte Contemporanea gallery—are luminescent galaxies of points upon a black abyss, the act of composition akin to a meditative mantra, emerging and evolving through the passing of time, distilled in the very timelessness of his art. He currently lives and works in Pietrasanta, Italy.
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The Desert is a Visual Reference for Me, A Conversation Between Luca Beatrice and Armen Agop

I met Armen Agop in April, on a beautiful spring day, and what would normally have been a normal visit to an artist's studio was tinged with a rather special significance. For over a year, as everyone knows, our movements have been somewhat limited to what is strictly necessary.
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Some materials are more resistant than others: they always say no. Armen Agop tells us how he discovered a material that suits him. He speaks about marble, basalt and granite and the pros and cons of working in a close artistic community like the one near Pietrasanta.
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Image Journal: In the Studio

Growing up in Cairo, Egypt (the land where monotheism was born and developed a unique heritage), in an Armenian family, I wondered from an early age about our beliefs, dreams, and how to perceive the universe. The cultural differences between my family’s life and traditions and those of the culture outside led me to continually question values, and that led to a deeper search for the essential and the profound. It made me think about the fundamental needs of human beings.
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Canvas: Black Poetry

Armen Agop’s delicate curvilinear sculptures are pliable-looking, like whirling forms caught in action. Fascinated by dervishes, he moulds solemnity and power in black granite and basalt. Currently on view at Meem Gallery until 13 February, the gallery is also showing his sculptures and cosmic paintings at a solo booth in ADA.
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Jules McDevitt in Conversation with Armen Agop

Well known for his sober black granite sculptures, expertly rendered into abstract organic forms, here Agop introduces his ethereal works on paper and canvas for the first time. The paintings have a luminous quality, at first glance they resemble the inherent monumentality of the artist’s sculptural work with their large, black expanses of space. However, upon closer inspection, the works reveal an explosion of ‘points’ in colourful hues, lightly and purposefully placed upon the canvas. The notions of time, labor, and ritual are rethought in these paintings, in an act of processing time.
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Novelles D’Armenie: Observing the Invisible (English and French)

I grew up in Egypt, so inevitably I was surrounded by ancient Egyptian art. At the same time my father was a steel engraver and produced prototypes for metal. So, I can say that I was surrounded by an immense number of mini reliefs or sculptures in steel. But, the natural environment — the desert and the limitless horizon — has always fascinated me. I believe it was in the desert, where seams to be nothing, that’s where I learned to see.
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Art Plural Gallery presents an interview with Egyptian-Armenian sculptor Armen Agop. The artist was in Singapore to unveil his solo exhibition "Transcontemporary" at Art Plural Gallery, which presents 20 granite and bronze sculptures that are...
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BETWEEN MAN AND STONE: INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST ARMEN AGOP

BETWEEN MAN AND STONE: INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST ARMEN AGOP You were born in Cairo with Armenian heritage, and spent much of your early career in Egypt. How did your upbringing and culture lead you to work in sculpture? Armen Agop: Egypt is a great place...
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A WORD WITH SCULPTOR ARMEN AGOP by Veronica Neo

A WORD WITH SCULPTOR ARMEN AGOP You were born in Egypt from Armenian descent. You are now established in Italy and have a studio in Pietrasanta. How do you relate to your origin? How do you define yourself? How does that interesting mélange...
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Jane A. Peterson, Art Plural Voices of Contemporary Art

Armen Agop is known for his graceful granite sculptures that harken back to ancient Egypt and forward to our time and beyond. Born in Cairo in 1969, Agop revives ancient techniques to create “contrasting art” – where contemporary meets...
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