By drawing on a range of influences and interests from ancient and modern art histories to philosophy in his practice, Guiragossian developed an approach that has become immediately recognisable. Driven by an early curiosity with the human form, the artist spent his career investigating the realm between figuration and abstraction. Born in 1954, Emmanuel is a Lebanese-German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, publisher and musician of Armenian descent. The eldest son of renowned artist Paul Guiragossian, Emmanuel belongs to the 6th generation of artists in his family of musicians, iconographists and painters. As a child Emmanuel’s paternal grandmother Rahel didn’t tell him stories like „The Little Red Riding Hood“ or children’s fairytale stories. Instead, this woman who had lived through the Armenian Genocide, several civil wars and two World Wars, told him about her own experience. This affected Emmanuel’s perception of life and as a consequence his work was early dramatic.
He was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, followed by advanced courses at the academy, and received a scholarship. Emmanuel specialized in artistic anatomy and graduated with honors, eventually becoming a professor at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts. He has held numerous solo exhibitions around the world. Emmanuel’s ultimate goal was to establish the first contemporary art museum in Lebanon, which was also his father Paul’s dream.
A solo exhibition for Emmanuel Guiragossian is an important milestone in the exploration of Contemporary art.
Sabrina Catabelle, a Dubai-based curator
Emmanuel Guiragossian’s oil on canvas work is often figurative, featuring people gathered together not only in groups but intertwined, his subjects seemingly taking comfort or solace in each other, or offering support, in a way that emits deep and raw emotion in audiences. Simple, silhouetted outlines devoid of detail of people and horses are brought to life by a colourful palette in compositions that are evidently deeply personal reflections and, simultaneously, representations of broader humanity.
Figurative characters are defined in varying palettes of vibrating colours. A significant number of paintings also focus on the relationship between human beings in society.
For more infroamtion, please vist http://www.emmagoss.com and https://www.instagram.com/emmanuelguiragossian/.
