Knarik Vardanyan

Knarik Vardanyan was born in the village of Kaftarli (now Panik), Shirak Region, RA. She was the wife of opera singer Davit Poghosyan. 1933 graduated from Leninakan construction technical school. In 1933-34, she worked in Alexander Tamanyan’s architectural studio as a technician-architect. 1941 graduated from the Fine Arts School named after P. Terlemezyan, Yerevan Fine Arts Theater Institute in 1950. In 1950-52, Knarik studied at the painting department of the House of Armenian Culture in Moscow, in the studio of B. V. Johanson. In 1942-44, she worked in the puppet theater named after H. Tumanyan in Yerevan as the main artist. She created a number of performances in other theaters of Armenia. In the works of the initial period, she depicted the everyday life of a working man with authentic truth (“Tobacco Seedling”, 1958, “Tractor Woman”, 1960, “Matgashner”, 1962). In the 1960s-70s, dynamic perceptions of man and nature, strong changes in color, line, and shape appeared in the artist’s art (“Drilling”, 1964, “Cyclists”, 1965, “Armenia”, 1968, “Aluminum and Iron”, 1974, “Aletsup”, 1976, “Builders: Bam”, 1982, “Summer Song”, 1983). Since 1943, she has participated in national and international exhibitions. Knarik had solo exhibitions in Yerevan (1965, 1978, 1981), Leninakan (1981), Kirovakan (1981), Yeghegnadzor (1982), Tbilisi (1982). She was a member of the Union of Artists of Armenia. 1967 was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Armenia. Died in Yerevan.