Co-Curator of the exhibition “New Matter: Sergei Djavadian’s Collection of Armenian Abstraction,” with Vigen Galstyan at the National Gallery of Armenia (31 July – 15 December 2024), Choghakate Kazarian joins us to discuss the early years of the art collection of Sergei Djavadian, focused on abstract and conceptual works by Achot Achot, Kiki, Offenbach, Martin Petrosyan, Armén Rotch, and Sev, who were key members of the famous 3rd Floor group (1987–1994), considered the first movement of contemporary art in Armenia. The collection, formed primarily during the early 1990s, and thus synchronous with the movements it represents, reflects the important ideological conflicts within the 3rd Floor group, starting with the “plus minus” exhibition in 1990, and the consequent formation of the Bunker group. The presentation will also be an opportunity to bring up methodological issues regarding historicising contemporary art in Armenia.

Co-organised by the Armenian Institute and Dr Klara Kemp-Welch, Reader in 20th Century Modernism, The Courtauld.

About the Speaker

Choghakate Kazarian is an art historian and curator specialised in modern and contemporary art. She holds a Master degree in art history from the Ecole du Louvre (Paris), a Master degree in philosophy from La Sorbonne (Paris) and a PhD in art history from The Courtauld Institute of Art (London). She was curator at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and taught at the Ecole du Louvre. She has curated exhibitions on artists such as Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Karel Appel, and Henry Darger. Her latest exhibitions include Immersion. Les Origines: 1949–1969 at the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne (Switzerland), “Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé” at The Jewish Museum (New York), and “New Matter: The Sergei Djavadian Collection of Armenian Abstraction” at the National Gallery of Armenia.