Armen
Azatovich Avetisyan

Biography

Armen (Lyova) Avetisyan was born in 1948 in Armenia, in Kirovakan (now Vanadzor). 1962-1964 he studied at the Art School in Yerevan. After graduation he returned to Kirovakan, where he worked in his father's atelier as an artist-decorator.

in 1973 he moved to Leningrad and took the name Armen to emphasize his belonging to the Armenian people. Since 1976 he actively participated in numerous apartment exhibitions. on July 4, 1982 Armen was arrested and imprisoned in "Kresty". The city prosecutor sanctioned his arrest. His home and studio were searched. The atelier was smashed up and taken away as not being used for its intended purpose. After the arrest they started to look for an article of law to charge him with. Nothing was found. The court, where the charges were brought, was held only four months later, he was sentenced to 10 months on charges of tax evasion (this had never happened before to artists). After his release from prison, he began to actively cooperate with the charitable foundation "Crosses". in 1996 Armen's personal exhibition and Boris Grebenshchikov's concert took place in "Kresty".

on November 2, 2003 Armen died in hospital. He is buried in the Smolensk Armenian Cemetery near the temple that he helped restore.

Member of the International Federation of Artists, member of the St. Petersburg organization of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia, member of the Union of Designers of Russia.


The works are

State Public Library, St. Petersburg
All-Russian Pushkin Museum, St. Petersburg
In the collections of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, St. Petersburg
Museum of Non-Conformist Art, St. Petersburg
Foundation for Contemporary Art, Manezh St. Petersburg
The Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection, USA
Museum of Russian Art, Montgeron, France
State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg
Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg
Directorate of the Museum Association of the Leningrad Region
Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, St. Petersburg
Professional Union of Artists IFA, St. Petersburg
Youth and Sports Foundation, Bucharest, Romania
National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8F%D0%BD,_%D0%90%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD_%D0%90%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87