Existing comment:
Bogdan Hovhannisyan and Gayane Manucharyan
At Bogdan Hovhannisyan's workshop in Vanadzor, he and his apprentices maintain the centuries-old tradition of khachkar carving. Hovhannisyan teaches visiting tourists how to carve and create small sculptures from gypsum. As a young man, Hovhannisyan planned to become a painter, but while enrolling in the fine arts college, he mistakenly applied for the sculpture class.
He recalls, "My ancestors were dealing with stone. Grandfather was a mason, father was cutting stones in the quarry, so I will also follow the family tradition." Thus he became a stone carver who makes both traditional khachkars and artistic improvisations. "I have a lot of tools," he explains. "They work with me, they laugh with me."
Hovhannisyan also collaborates with painter Gayane Manucharyan to create book covers and wall hangings inspired by the illuminated manuscripts found in the Matenaderan Museum in Yerevan. Manucharyan helps Hovhannisyan with stone carving and also makes her own decorative stones. She represents the relatively small group of women stone carvers in Armenia. |