SINGAPORE.- Art Plural Gallery is pleased to announce Transcontemporary, a solo exhibition by Egyptian artist Armen Agop. Running from 22nd January to 21st February 2015, Transcontemporary unveils new granite and bronze sculptures that are both free-standing and wall-mounted.
Armen Agop's sculptures have been called futuristic, other-worldy, UFOs, and at the same time ancient, spiritual and meditative. They are forms that seem familiar and yet unusual. They may remind you of something you haven't yet seen. This may be in part due to the timelessness of the material he chooses and it may be due to his approach, which results in precise forms that demand contemplation.
Born in Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs, and deeply rooted in his familial Armenian culture, a people that were nearly wiped out 100 years ago, he observed that often what remains of a civilization hundreds, if not thousands, of years later is its artworks. They are reflections of a culture yet have carried on, expressing the energy of a civilization that continues to enrich the existence of humankind today. These artworks still touch and nourish us spiritually because of the honesty of the human experience at the moment of creation. This drives Agop to reconsider the very concept of “Contemporary Art.” The ancient works were once new, yet they are not contemporary as we would define it today. They were current in their day, but they are timeless in their essence. “Sculpture seeks no attention from the outside world. It is content with its own being“, the artist explains.
Agop’s rejection of the limited concept of Contemporary has motivated him to invite us to open the time horizon. He connects with granite, a material that existed millions of years ago, and through his internal journey helps us to imagine the future. ”Remember that granite existed before the human being“, he explains, “I see the stone or the granite as a part of nature, like me, and we find a way of living together rather than using each other“. Sculpture, for him, is not a trend. It is beyond now. It is Transcontemporary.
Armen Agop was born in Cairo of Armenian descent in 1969. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts from Helwan University, Cairo in 1992. Agop received an Assistant Research Scholarship at the Faculty of Fine Arts. In 1998, he won the Sculpture prize at the Autumn Salon, Cairo Egypt. His national recognition was confirmed in 2000 upon receiving the Prix de Rome. After moving to Italy, his works were displayed in the National Gallery of Modern Art. His sculptures can be seen at: the Egyptian Academy in Rome, the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome, and the Centro Culturale L. Russo in Pietrasanta, Italy. His international exhibitions include Florida, China, Norway, Spain, Holland and Denmark. He participated in the international sculpture Biennale in 2003 in Japan. His works are also presented in the Egyptian Modern Art Museum, Egypt, Aswan Open Air Museum, Aswan, Open Air Museum of St. Martin Park, Comblain-au-pont, Belgium, and Coral Springs Museum of Art in Florida, USA. Agop’s latest exhibition was held at the 4th Beijing International Art Biennale 2010, China. The artist presently lives and works in Italy.
