Recently, painter Svetlana Hakobyan opened a fine art exhibition at the Artists Union of Armenia in Yerevan. Gerdastan, or “family,” is Svetlana’s seventh exhibition. A poet by background, Svetlana started painting in 2002. In 2003 she opened her first personal exhibition in Armenia and later exhibited her work in Paris, London and Brussels.

The exhibition walls were filled with oil paintings of the artist’s preferred colors – deep reds, brilliant oranges and yellows, and intense greens. Titles like “Universe in Bloom,” “Cosmic night,” “Chaotic Harmony” and “Road to Eternity” give a picture of Svetlana’s inner world. For her, the universe is the first extension of the human soul, through which the richness of an ethnic group and nations are built. The most important component says Svetlana is gerdastan – the warm ties of the family, thanks to which the Armenian nation has survived throughout the centuries.

In this rich exhibition, the pictures hold poetic lines and expressions. Both in poetry and in fine art, Svetlana Hakobyan searches for harmony in chaos. And these searches lead her from one type of art to another. She tries to create this harmony in real life as well by working on many charity projects with the Dar Foundation, an organization she founded in 2005. The Dar Foundation, which implements educational and cultural programs, has helped to renovate the Charentsavan school and the school of Tsaghkunk village, as well as build an open air theater.

Svetlana Hakobyan during the opening of her personal exhibition.

A scene from “Gerdastan” exhibition

Credit: Levon Lachikyan