Gegham Abrahamyan is the recipient of the National Sculpture Society’s 2020 Stanley Bleifeld Memorial Grant. The Grant is awarded to a sculptor who has demonstrated outstanding ability and who has created a body of work inspired by nature. It consists of a $5000 cash award and a quarter-page ad in Sculpture Review magazine.

Sculptors Ben Hammond, Lee Hutt and Carter Jones served as this year’s jurors. Hutt describes Abrahamyan as “a painter as well as a sculptor as his sculpture seems to blend the two arts masterfully.” She continues, “His sculptures are beautifully textured, evolving into smooth fluid shapes which pull the viewer in and along.”  Hammond adds, “Stanley Bleifeld had an amazing ability to capture natural form in a unique and expressive way and Abrahamyan has that similar spirit in his work.”  Jones also compares the two sculptors, stating that both “are time travelers – timeless and international artists.”

Abrahamyan recently shared his thoughts on receiving the grant,

“I am delighted to have been selected as the recipient for the 2020 Stanley Bleifeld Grant from the National Sculpture Society. I am very grateful for this Award! 

Art is something that makes me breathe.

Art can be a challenge: both disappointed and rewarding at the same time. Art is educating, art is learning and exploring. Art supposed to be empowering, harmonious and must always remain earnest.

During this difficult pandemic time, I would like to mention the quotes of the great American-Armenian poet William Saroyan: ‘Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it be free and unashamed…In the time of your life, live – so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.'”

Abrahamyan studied at Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts, earning a Master of Fine Arts in 2014. His monument of Saint Hovhannes Odzneci, carved in basalt, graces the Ardvi Monastery of Saint Hovhannes in Armenia. In 2018, Abrahamyan participated in a sculpting competition dedicated to the Book of Lamentations by Saint Gregory of Narek. At that event, Abrahamyan won second place – competing among seventy-five works. He has shown in solo and group exhibitions in many countries including France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Russia. He currently lives and works in Seattle, WA.

Stanley Bleifeld (1924-2011) was a Member Emeritus of the National Sculpture Society and served as president from 1991-1994. The grant was made possible through a generous donation from his widow, Naomi Bleifeld, and will be awarded annually in perpetuity.

Image on Sculpture News: Lullaby by Gegham Abrahamyan