Armenian Arts is proud to present ARTISTINTHEWORLD by Dutch photographer and painter André Smits, a global, ongoing artistic journey that connects artists and art professionals across continents through photography, murals, and living networks of collaboration.

Since 2008, Smits has built an ever-expanding archive of more than 7,000 photographs portraying artists in their studios around the world. A defining element of the series is the romantic Rückenfigur concept: each subject is photographed from behind, offering viewers an intimate yet contemplative glimpse into creative spaces.

This pop-up exhibition marks his fourth visit to Los Angeles and features more than 100 photographs.

A Living Mural – Watch It Happen

From March 1–5, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, André Smits will be creating a large-scale mural inside Armenian Arts. The mural functions as a living map of artistic connections — a network of names and arrows tracing relationships and introductions between artists.

The public is warmly invited to step in throughout the week to witness the mural’s progress in real time. Visitors may observe the process, engage with the evolving network, or follow daily updates on our Instagram.

For this exhibition, Smits collaborates with Monika Dahlberg, who will respond within the mural through colorful collages inspired by the city.

Smits’ exhibitions function as social sculptures — spaces where connection itself becomes the artwork.

Exhibition Schedule

Friday, March 6, 2026
7:00–10:00 PM — Opening Reception 

Saturday, March 7, 2026
3:00–6:00 PM — Exhibition Open
4:00 PM — Artist Talk 

After the artist talk, photographed artists are invited to take their portrait from the wall as a gift — a gesture reflecting the spirit of openness and shared artistic practice.

Join us for a week of process, connection, and celebration of the global artistic community.

BOUND BY FIRE brings together two artists whose practices are united by heat, transformation, and elemental intensity — Tro Khayalian, an Armenian American abstract painter and metal sculptor, and Paola Kassabian, a ceramic artist whose work is shaped through flame, material, and process.

Tro Khayalian’s abstract expressionist paintings and metal sculptures channel raw emotion through liquid acrylics, layered textures, unconventional tools, and instinctive color. His work creates immersive visual experiences — energetic, transportive, and deeply atmospheric — where movement, depth, and subconscious rhythm guide the viewer’s perception. In recent years, his exploration of metal as a medium has expanded his visual language, merging industrial strength with expressive abstraction.

Paola Kassabian’s ceramic practice explores form, surface, and transformation through fire. Working with clay as both a sculptural and conceptual medium, her pieces carry the imprint of heat, time, and material evolution — embodying fragility, resilience, and tactile beauty. Fire becomes both a tool and a collaborator in shaping her final works.

Together, their works create a compelling dialogue between metal and clay, fluidity and structure, intensity and stillness. BOUND BY FIRE explores how heat can destroy, refine, and rebirth — revealing the shared alchemy behind two distinct yet interconnected artistic voices.

Opening Night: Friday, February 27, 2026 | 7 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition Continues: Saturday, February 28, 2026 | 3 PM – 6 PM

NOSTALGIA is a reflective and emotionally resonant solo exhibition by acclaimed Armenian artist Davit Mirzoyan, exploring memory, time, identity, and the quiet poetry of the past through refined painterly expression.

Born in 1961 in Yerevan, Mirzoyan received his BFA in Armenia in 1983 from the Department of Art and Design at the Armenian State Pedagogical University, where he was trained in the rich traditions of Western European and Russian academic painting. In 1989, he became one of the youngest members of the prestigious Union of Artists of Armenia and the USSR, marking him as a significant voice in the contemporary art scene.

His international career includes exhibitions across Armenia, Belgium, Europe, and the United States, and membership in the Royal Art Society St.-Lucas Guild of Belgium (1998). In 2004, Mirzoyan earned his MFA from Brigham Young University, further expanding his artistic vision and global presence.

Mirzoyan’s works are distinguished by their emotional depth, technical mastery, and contemplative atmosphere. Through nuanced color, light, and composition, he evokes nostalgia not merely as longing for the past, but as a space of reflection, meaning, and quiet beauty. His paintings invite viewers to revisit personal and collective memories—moments suspended between history and feeling.

His original works are held in state institutions and private collections in Armenia, Belgium, and the United States, affirming his lasting artistic significance.

NOSTALGIA is an invitation to slow down, remember, and reconnect with the emotional landscapes that shape who we are.

Opening Night: Friday, February 20, 2026 | 7 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition Continues: Saturday, February 21, 2026 | 3 PM – 6 PM

COLORS OF YEREVAN is a vibrant and poetic solo exhibition by contemporary Armenian artist Karishok (Karine) Dulyan, celebrating the emotional rhythm, architectural spirit, and everyday poetry of Armenia’s capital.

Born and raised in Yerevan, Dulyan began painting at the age of four and held her first solo exhibition at just five years old. She later pursued a career in architecture and urban design, earning Master’s degrees in Arts & New Technologiesand Urbanism in Spain, before returning fully to painting—bringing with her a deep understanding of space, structure, light, and city life.

Her work is widely recognized for its expressive cityscapes, abstract urban impressions, and luminous color palette. Moving fluidly between watercolor, acrylic, ink, mixed media, and collage, Dulyan captures the beauty of everyday moments, the energy of streets, and the quiet emotional character of cities. Her paintings often reinterpret Yerevan’s architectural “chaos” as unexpected harmony, revealing charm, warmth, and hidden beauty where others may overlook it.

COLORS OF YEREVAN presents a visual love letter to the city—its light, movement, memory, and soul. Each artwork invites viewers to pause, reflect, and rediscover Yerevan through a lens of color, optimism, nostalgia, and urban poetry.

Opening Night: Friday, February 13, 2026 | 7 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition Continues: Saturday, February 14, 2026 | 3 PM – 6 PM

LOVE CONFESSION is a poetic and emotionally charged solo exhibition by contemporary artist Ella Sarkisyan, exploring love as memory, mystery, confession, and transformation. Through layered textures, symbolic imagery, and luminous color harmonies, Sarkisyan invites viewers into an intimate visual dialogue where personal emotion meets universal longing.

Born into a family of artists and shaped by formal training at the Studio Art School of Yerevan and Yerevan State University (MFA), Ella Sarkisyan has developed a distinctive artistic language rooted in both classical cultural references and experimental contemporary expression. Since relocating to the United States in 1995, she has exhibited widely across the U.S. and Europe, earning recognition from collectors, curators, and critics for her refined, mystical, and emotionally resonant work.

Her art is known for its elegance, delicacy, and symbolic depth—blending fantasy, literary sensuality, neoclassical inspiration, and intuitive abstraction. Each piece carries hidden narratives, poetic metaphors, and subtle confessions that unfold through color, texture, and form. As Art Director and curator Nicola Eremita describes, Sarkisyan’s work evokes “an extraordinary harmony of color, texture, symbolism, and mysticism,” confronting themes of renewal, creativity, and the miracle of inner life.

In LOVE CONFESSION, Sarkisyan reflects on identity, memory, desire, and emotional truth, creating a visual space where Armenian cultural roots converse with contemporary global aesthetics. Her works—featured on international platforms such as Saatchi Art—bridge tradition and innovation, offering a voice that is both deeply personal and universally moving.

This exhibition is an invitation to witness love not only as romance, but as revelation, vulnerability, longing, and artistic rebirth.

Opening Night: Friday, February 6, 2026 | 7 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition Continues: Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 3 PM – 6 PM