The first major exhibition of Sarkis’ recent work, curated by SFAI’s Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs Hou Hanru, will be on view in SFAI’s Walter and McBean Galleries from September 22 to December 9. Actively involved with the avant-garde movements in Europe during the 1960s revolution, Sarkis has become a prominent figure in the global art scene over the last few decades. Born in Istanbul, Turkey to an Armenian family, Sarkis moved to Paris in 1964. His works address his experiences as an “exile” who travels incessantly. Unfolding a personal universe that emerged from the contrast between light and darkness, green and red, material and immaterial, appearance and disappearance that are deeply influenced by his memory of Byzantino-Armenian architecture, his works are profoundly concerned with humanity. Sarkis has developed an immense body of work although he is relatively unknown in the United States. Sarkis’ public lecture on September 26 corresponds with the exhibition of his work at SFAI, and a complementary series of rare avant-garde films, selected by the artist as influential to his work, will be screened at SFAI in October and November. The Sarkis exhibition and public lecture are supported by a generous grant from Étant donnés: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art.
