Arthur Sharafian

Sharafyan has been influenced by El Greco, having always felt Greco’s style in himself in terms of expressive and aesthetic principles. Sharafyan’s individual style includes both contemporary and traditional Armenian elements. Throughout his career, he has tried out various techniques such as collage, canvas, acrylic paints, pastels and oils. He is represented by Armenia’s Gala Art Gallery.Sharafyan teaches painting at the Yerevan State Fine Art College, in addition to being an artist. He feels that he is helping to promote a civil democratic society by teaching his students not only how to paint, but also how to become free thinkers. In Sharafyan’s view, it is an artist’s job to comment on society and to make people think about the world they live in. He attempted to do so by creating images depicting the tragedy of the Armenian people during the Armenian Genocide.In honour of the 100th Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the artist created a series entitled “Closed Doors” to symbolise the personal tragedy of people who had to leave their own houses, their homeland and their personal story, which started beyond those doors but ended up nowhere.