National roots, rituality, and an unbreakable connection with the land: on July 10, the exhibition “Ruben Shahverdyan: Memories of the Land” opened at the Sardarapat Memorial Complex, at the National Museum of Armenian Ethnography and History of the Liberation Struggle.
Ruben Shahverdyan is one of the most talented, distinctive, and profound masters of contemporary Armenian decorative and applied arts, particularly ceramics.
Shahverdyan’s art draws deeply on ancient Armenian culture. His works clearly reflect the influence of the ceramic traditions of Van (Urartu), Karmir Blur, Dvin, and Ani.
The jugs, vessels, ornamental forms, and sculptures are not merely utilitarian objects; they carry symbolic imagery, including the Tree of Life, birds, goddesses, and ancestral signs.
Themes of motherhood, fertility, and eternity recur throughout his work.
Ruben Shahverdyan revived the “dark,” sometimes matte aesthetic of traditional Armenian ceramics – created through engobing or smoke-firing, lending his works an air of mystery.
In addition to small rounded sculptures and vessels, Ruben Shahverdyan is also known for his monumental decorative works, including mosaics and ceramic panels that have adorned public buildings and spaces in Armenia and beyond.
The exhibition will become part of the decorative and applied arts section of the museum’s permanent collection.
Museum address: 1 Daniel Bek-Pirumyan St., Araks village, Armavir Province.