Qarpet

The works of the Qarpet series are not reproductions of traditional Armenian forms, but reinterpretations.

Khachkars and the art of carpet weaving are as central to Armenian cultural identity as icon painting is to Russian culture, the kimono to Japan, calligraphy to China, the pyramids and hieroglyphs to Egypt, Gothic architecture to France, or Renaissance art to Italy. Although these cultural codes emerge from clearly defined ethnic and geographic contexts, they continue to be reinterpreted across centuries, acquiring new forms beyond their original horizons.

Paradoxically, such manifestations are sometimes perceived not by the immediate bearers of those cultural codes, but by those who approach them from a certain distance. The same may be said of Armenian khachkars and carpet traditions: however interconnected and deeply rooted they may be within Armenian cultural memory, they continue to exist within Armenian consciousness as distinct and firmly standing pillars of the “architecture” of Armenian cultural identity.

The Qarpet series by Alexander Nikitin and Dmitry Beketov emerges precisely from this paradox. Created between 2022 and 2025 while living in Armenia and during the artists’ prolonged engagement with Armenian visual culture, the project unites the monumentality of the khachkar with the ornamental language of Armenian carpet traditions within a new sculptural format. Inspired by diverse traditions of Armenian carpet weaving—from Artsakh to Sevan—as well as khachkars ranging from Sanahin to Julfa, Qarpet does not refer to a single localized tradition, but rather engages with the continuity and diversity of Armenian ornamental culture across centuries and regions.

The works of the Qarpet series are not reproductions of traditional Armenian forms, but reinterpretations in which inherited symbols migrate into different material and spatial layers. Both khachkars and Armenian carpet ornamentation contain multilayered meanings and function as visual texts—cosmic, religious, social, and beyond. Storytelling lies at the core of the works created by Alexander Nikitin and Dmitry Beketov, and each of the four monumental pieces presented in the exhibition possesses its own narrative trajectory, ranging from the apricot tree blossoming to deeply personal and introspective journeys.

Тhe Cafesjian Center for the Arts continues its mission of presenting the best of Armenian culture to the world and the best of contemporary art in Armenia. Projects such as Qarpet are among the brightest examples. The works acquire additional depth through their display alongside Artashes Hovsepyan’s monumental relief, Sasuntsi Davit, which correspondingly conveys the echoes of both khachkar traditions and the ornamental language of Armenian carpet art.