Sarkis
Encyclopedia
Sarkis Zabunyan, known as Sarkis, (born September 26, 1938 in Istanbul
, Turkey
) is a Turkish-born Armenian
conceptual art
ist living in France
.
His family moved from Sivas to Istanbul. His father Garabet Zabunyan was a butcher, and his mother Duru Zabunyan was a housewife. Sarkis studied at the St. Michel French High School and got his degree from Mimar Sinan University. He married an Ankara University
philosophy student, Istanbul-born Işıl Akyüz, in the early 1960s. He decided to use his Christian name Sarkis in his professional artistic life, and moved to Paris
, France
in 1962 after winning the Paris Young Artists' Biennial Prize.
One of the leading conceptual artists, Sarkis has returned to his native Turkey
many times since the 1980s to exhibit his work. He has participated in the Istanbul Biennial. He was the curator of the last ever Fureya Koral
exhibition when ceramic artist Koral was still alive. A professor at Strasbourg Beaux Arts, Sarkis has trained young Turkish artists including Su Yucel and Serhat Kiraz. The last Sarkis show in Turkey was in May 2005, at the Akbank Art Gallery in Istanbul. The gallery devoted all of its six floors to the Sarkis, A Milestone exhibition which was curated by Ali Akay. Apart from Turkey and France, Sarkis has exhibited his work in over three dozen countries, including the USA, Germany
, India
, Australia
, China
, Japan
, Mexico
and Brazil
. Sarkis's motto is "Anılarım Vatanımdır" (My Memories are My Country).
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) is a Turkish-born Armenian
Armenians in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000 . Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...
conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
ist living in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
His family moved from Sivas to Istanbul. His father Garabet Zabunyan was a butcher, and his mother Duru Zabunyan was a housewife. Sarkis studied at the St. Michel French High School and got his degree from Mimar Sinan University. He married an Ankara University
Ankara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
philosophy student, Istanbul-born Işıl Akyüz, in the early 1960s. He decided to use his Christian name Sarkis in his professional artistic life, and moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1962 after winning the Paris Young Artists' Biennial Prize.
One of the leading conceptual artists, Sarkis has returned to his native Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
many times since the 1980s to exhibit his work. He has participated in the Istanbul Biennial. He was the curator of the last ever Fureya Koral
Füreya Koral
Füreya Koral was the first female Turkish ceramists whose work blended the elements of Islamic and Western art from the East with abstract and other influences from the West. She worked in a variety of media such as tiles, statuettes and panels.-Early life:Füreya Koral was born in Istanbul...
exhibition when ceramic artist Koral was still alive. A professor at Strasbourg Beaux Arts, Sarkis has trained young Turkish artists including Su Yucel and Serhat Kiraz. The last Sarkis show in Turkey was in May 2005, at the Akbank Art Gallery in Istanbul. The gallery devoted all of its six floors to the Sarkis, A Milestone exhibition which was curated by Ali Akay. Apart from Turkey and France, Sarkis has exhibited his work in over three dozen countries, including the USA, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Sarkis's motto is "Anılarım Vatanımdır" (My Memories are My Country).