Yossi Vardan

S C U L P T O R I   V A R D A N   MONUMENTAL AND DECORATIVE ART

Vardan was born in the Southern part of the Soviet Union to an artist and a school principal. After beginning art school at the age of six, Vardan had his first solo exhibition at age of 10. After graduating he was accepted to an art school for the future students of The Academy of Fine Art.

Vardans work is a process which transforms ordinary matter into an extraordinary form that connects the realm of dreams and fillings with the material world. Conceptual Realism is a style that he has developed over many years. This is a continuation of the traditional style created by his beloved mentor Ernst Neizvestny.

Vardan is a third generation sculptor, who graduated with an MFA from the Academy of Industrial and Fine Arts in Russia, and is currently working on his PhD dedicated to Cappella Sistina. In 1997, after living through the turmoil of two wars in his home land Chechnya,Vardan was forced to leave the Soviet Union and fled to the United States due to the several factors and one of them was his Jewish-Armenian ancestry. He comes from the one of the prominent Armenian dynasties of Karabach, the dynasty of Melik Egan, the son of the Catholicos Gukas the First Garnetzy, house of Cilicia(1731-1737). His family roots began during the Second Jerusalem Temple, when in the First century of BC, his and several other noble families of Jerusalem were invited to move to Armenia by the Emperior Tigranes theGreat.

Several years later, Vardan was recognized by the highly acclaimed sculptor Ernst Neizvestny as his only apprentice. Vardan is also the only non-American born Industrial Designer chosen to become one of the creators of presidential limousines for two US presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Vardan works with traditional materials including stone, bronze, steel, glass and has participated in some of the most exclusive projects worldwide including monuments, mosaic murals, portrait sculptures and oversized stained glass as well as Roman, Florentine and Byzantine mosaics. Vardans works are located in private collections in Saudi Arabia, France, England, Israel, Germany, Spain and Russia. His more recent works are located in California, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Oklahoma, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

1985-1992 Russian Academy of Fine Art. Master's degree. Major in Monumental Sculpture.

1980-1984 Art school. Major in Decorative Art. BA

TIMELINE

Born in 1968 to a family of a sculptor and an English teacher.
Third generation sculptor.
First solo exhibition age of five.
1996 Emigrated to United States Currently resides in Los Angeles, CA

Most of my projects are memorials, including United Workers Monument, WWII, Chernobyl, Holocaust, Unknown soldier.
Every monumental projects I ever worked on was sponsored by a government art committee, due to its size and nature.

SELECTED ARCHITECTURAL AND MONUMENTAL PROJECTS

2012. Building of Chabad Lubavitch synagogue. Design and styling. El Paso, TX
2007. Six days of creation. Monumental mosaic, 800 SqF. Friendship Circle. West Bloomfield, MI
2000. Varco Oil rig. World largest oil display. Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia
1999. Sculptural Group of Novak family. NJ
1999. Monumental mosaic. Synagogue. Tustin, CA. Joined project
1996. WWII Memorial. Moscow, RU
1995. Chernobyl Victims Memorial. Ukraine.
1994. WWII Memorial. Ukraine
Major works located in private and public art collections worldwide.
Berlin, Germany. Bust of Mephistopheles. H-24 Bronze.
Paris, France. Sculpture of Trinity. H-40. Bronze, gemstones.
Tel-Aviv, Israel. Twelve Gates. Monumental stained glass panel. H-20
Montreal, Canada. Menorah. Bronze. H-2
Moscow, Russia. Flora. Marble sculpture. H-10
Vienna, Austria. Portrait of composer Mussorgsky. Marble. H-24
Monumental fountain group. Siberian region.