Yerevan Collectors’ Choice 2: Ruben Angaladian: Letters in Plates

October 09, 2014 – December 21, 2014 Yerevan Collectors’ Choice 2: Ruben Angaladian: Letters in Plates exhibition brings together seventy-seven works by sixty-four artists. The exhibition reveals the bright character and aesthetic mindset of the Collector, as well as the rich cultural environment, in which those pieces of applied arts found their artistic expression. 

Writer, philosopher, cultural critic, ethno-political analyst and collector, Ruben Angaladian has filled his life with art. Both literally and figuratively, he lives in art. Over the decades, his collection has been enriched with unique examples of Armenian and world art, each of which constitutes an inseparable part of his personality. Ruben Angaladian belongs to the circle of collectors in whose collections nothing appears accidentally. This fact especially comes to light in his selection of plates. For many peoples, including Armenians, there is the accepted tradition of breaking plates as a sign of fortune. Ruben Angaladian, on the other hand, has found fortune in collecting plates.

In general, for centuries household items have had specific aesthetic designs – of color, geometry, figurative (humans and animals), etc. In this context, plates in particular have never been common items. Throughout history, there has been a unique outlook attributed to that roundish object down the millennia. Even though the look of the plate as we know it today appeared relatively recently – a few centuries ago, clay or china dishes were known from ancient times and not only for practical application. It is sufficient to remember the antique Greek pateras, kylix and fish plates, whose illustrations changed from geometric design to figurative over time. Mainly, they depicted episodes of daily life as well as important historical events or folktales. In essence, kitchen items, including plates, also served as a medium to record a specific event, to verify it, and to pass it from generation to generation.

Naturally, each century contributed to the illustration of plates or trays in its own manner. During the Renaissance, tondos (a term for circular art works, either paintings or sculptures) became widespread. In terms of plates, this art form was especially expressed in the desco da parto style trays (birth trays) owned by many Italian families of the time. They were an important symbolic gift on the occasion of a successful birth. Renaissance masters including Masaccio and Botticelli painted these trays.

Departing from this historical excursion, let us now reflect on a very important question: the composition of a round space. This form, the tondo, as the frame for a piece of art, directly impacts compositional solutions. Plates, which are mainly rounded, are subject to these same principles. The round or oval form dictates how to construct a composition, how to distribute the figures, create the perspective. The result is different in comparison with the usual square or rectangular frame, commonly seen by the human eye. At times composition can be quite artificial, unnaturally fitted to a round border. Thus, the illustration of plate itself is a challenge for an artist and obliges him to make it as harmonious as possible.

Within this context, it is clear that despite the spread of the culture of illustrating plates and trays worldwide, this culture rarely occurs in the annals of Armenian visual art. Thus, Ruben Angaladian’s contribution to spreading this art form among Armenian artists is invaluable. For ten years he has been urging his artist friends to use plates as medium too: many of the artworks were implemented exactly for the collector on the plates provided by him. The plate made by sculptor Ara Shiraz is called A Letter to Ruben. To a certain extent it encapsulates the general idea of almost all the plates in the collection. They are specific stories/letters and well-wishes to the collector, and we have the opportunity to get to know those via this second exhibition of the Yerevan Collectors’ Choice series. Because of this initiative, the private collection again opens to the public, just as the Gerard L. Cafesjian collection became available at the Center he established.

The selection on exhibit has gathered over seventy works from sixty-four artists under one roof. Within its round space, plate has assembled different artists (painters, sculptors and potters) of several generations. It is common to say that the world is round. Thus, it is not surprising that in some medieval miniatures the Creator is depicted holding a drafting compass when drawing the earth. In stressing that the world is round, in essence we are pointing out the simple fact that no matter how large the world is, the chance of two people meeting is quite big if it is predestined. This exhibition is also a meeting place for dozen of artists and thousands of visitors – all gathering around a round plate.

Exhibition Catalog