Arshile Gorky

The exhibition on Arshile Gorky (Khorgon, Armenia, 1904 - Sherman, United States of America, 1948) held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Modern Art Centre was the first individual exhibition on the artist held in Europe, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of his birth. This exhibition was the result of a proposal by Karlen Mooradian, Arshile Gorky’s nephew and the exhibition curator. In cooperation with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s International and Armenian Communities Departments, he was responsible for selecting the pieces and organising the exhibition that brought together Gorky’s work produced between 1927 and 1947, highlighting the main periods of the artist’s career in a total of 15 paintings, 50 drawings and 3 sculptures. Vartoosh Adoian Mooradian, the artist’s sister, also exhibited three of his paintings.

The opening of the event was scheduled for 23 October 1984 but was postponed to the following day due to the official visit of the king and queen of Belgium that day, coinciding with the opening of an exhibition of Belgian art at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

As well as introducing Arshile Gorky and his work, the exhibition catalogue, coordinated by Karlen Mooradian, sought to demonstrate the relationship between literature and the artist (by publishing letters written by him) as well as introducing Armenian culture, which was still little known in Western Europe. In the catalogue, Karlen reflects on the historical relations between Armenia and the Iberian Peninsula, highlighting cultural ties with Portugal.

After Lisbon, the exhibition was held in Paris at the Centre Culturel Portugais – the FCG’s delegation in Paris. As was the case in Portugal, this was the first individual exhibition for the artist in France and although some of his works had previously been shown in Paris in group exhibitions, the pieces shown in the exhibition room of the Centre Culturel Portugais were new to the Paris public.

The exhibition in the French capital, curated by Karlen Moorandian with support from José-Augusto França, included the same pieces that had been shown in Lisbon, which were also joined by the painting Paysage Table (1945), belonging to the Musée d'Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou.

The French version of the catalogue also included a preface by José-Augusto França who, in an article dated 21 May 1985, commented that the exhibition in Paris was “an exceptional success that all critics praised”, which had not been the case in Portugal, where there had been less positive reviews: “The truth, however, is that La valée des Arméniens — the Arshile Gorky exhibition in Paris — is more important than it could have been in Lisbon and that must be a cause for reflection” (França, Diário de Lisboa, 21 May 1985).

In the same article, França mentioned that the success of the exhibition in Paris had helped the Centre Culturel Portugais establish itself in the French cultural landscape and it would then become “associated with a particularly important cultural action and will be a place known for other manifestations, with a new and wider public” (ibid.).

In Lisbon, the exhibition saw large visitor numbers, reflected in the catalogue, which sold out after a print run of 1,000 copies. A series of conferences were organised alongside the exhibition, with participations by Sílvia Chicó and Karlen Mooradian; the film Strokes of a Genius by director Carl Colby was also shown.

Following the event, three pieces by Arshile Gorky were acquired by the MAC. Some works belonging to Karlen Mooradian and his mother (the artist’s sister) were also temporarily deposited at the MAC: those that had been exhibited in Lisbon and Paris.