Raffi Yedalian

Raffi Yedalian (b. 1973)  is an award-winning Lebanese-Armenian artist who was born in Beirut. He studied Etching at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) and Fine Arts at the Toros Roslin Academy of Fine Art, Beirut. 

Yedalian’s work spans both paintings and sculptures. However, there are common threads that run through his art and inform his practice, most notably a concern for the human condition.

Melding figuration and abstraction, Yedalian’s paintings are marked by symmetry, duality, deconstruction and dichotomy, with these hallmark characteristics reaffirmed by a bold, two-tone palette. His stylized, silhouetted figures feature elongated shapes and faces which are mask-like, yet convey a sense of melancholy and suffering. There is also a stillness to Yedalian’s work which has the power to unnerve audiences. Static and seemingly suspended in time, his subjects still have the ability to engage and hold audiences captive through their ethereal quality and penetrative gaze.

In Yedalian’s sculptures, which he creates in materials that range from bronze to aluminium, Yedalian’s figures are given three-dimensional qualities, but somehow retain their motionless poses. Dismemberment and fragmentation give his pieces the appearance of being suspended, both in time and space.

“I chose to be a figurative artist to show my concern with the human condition,” he has said. “The human figure is always the main subject of my works, body movements, facial expressions, emotions and thoughts have been the center of my attention.”

Yedalian’s work has featured in several solo exhibitions, including, most recently: ‘Introspection’, Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut (2024); ‘Asymmetrical Balance’, AGBU Armenia, in partnership with Armenia Art Fair, Yerevan, Armenia (2022); Haigazian University of Beirut, Beirut (2018); Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2017); ‘Passion of Humanity’, Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2014); and ‘Glimpse of Life’, Pièce Unique Gallery, Solidere, Beirut (2012).

Raffi Yedalian has also taken part in numerous group shows, including, most recently: ‘La Bohème’, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Charles Aznavour, Artist’s Union of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia (2024); ‘Akneye’, Venice Biennale 2024, curated by Anastasia Dawson, Venice (2024); Artbooth Gallery, Abu Dhabi (2023); ‘Akneye’, art collaboration project, NFT and physical eye sculpture, Dubai (2023); Mark Hachem Gallery, Paris (2022); Moderne Art, Mark Hachem Gallery, Paris (2021); Volta Basel – Mark Hachem Gallery, Basel, Switzerland (2021); Beirut Art Scene – Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut (2020); 12th Florence Biennale (2019); Beirut Art Fair, Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut (2019); ‘Cultural Narratives’, Selections Arts, Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) Kuwait (2018); International Print Festival, Life N Style, Contemporary Art Space, Georgia (2018); ‘Cultural Narratives’, Art Week Dubai, Selections Arts, Alserkal Avenue Dubai (2018); ‘Red Dot’, Miami Art Fair, Esquisse Gallery, Miami (2017); Lebanese Cultural Week in Kuwait (2017); ‘Freestanding’, Artspace Gallery, Beirut (2017); Lucy Tutunjian Art Gallery, Beirut (2016); ‘Bitasarrof’, Lebanese National Library of Beirut (2016); Beirut Art Fair, Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2016); Beirut Design Week, ‘Art & Sustainability’, Art on56th, Beirut (2016); Beirut Art Fair (ME.NA.SA.ART), Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2015); Art 15 London’s Global Art Fair, Olympia, London (2015); Beirut Exhibition Center, Solidere, Beirut (2015); Beirut Art Fair (ME.NA.SA.ART) – Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2014); ‘Extraordinary Art Exhibition’, Goguikian Foundation, The Venue, Solidere, Beirut (2014); Beirut Art Fair (ME.NA.SA.ART), Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2013); Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MACAM), Alita, Lebanon (2013); Lucy Tutunjian Art Gallery, Beirut (2013); Visual Art Forum 2010, Unesco Palace, Beirut (2010); Surface Libre Gallery, Beirut (2010); and Museum of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, Beirut (2008).

Yedalian’s works can be found in permanent collections across numerous museums, including: the Sursock Museum, Beirut; the Vatican City; the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MACAM), Lebanon; the Modern Art Museum of Yerevan, Armenia; the Museum of the Shrine of Fatima, Portugal; the Museum of The Armenian Genocide, Armenia; the Ministry of Culture, Lebanon; the Museum of the Convent of Our Lady of Bzommar, Lebanon; and the Museum of the Great House of Cilicia, Lebanon, among others.

Raffi Yedalian’s monumental sculptures include ‘Meghabard’, a bronze piece that was inaugurated and blessed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Our Lady of Bzommar, Lebanon in 2012. A miniature bronze replica ‘Meghabard’ became a part of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI’s collection in the Vatican City.

In 2015, Yedalian presented his painting of the ‘Blessed Ignatius Maloyan’ to H.H. Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. The painting was then reproduced and issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State as a limited-edition stamp.

Yedalian is the recipient of several awards, including the Lorenzo il Magnifico Gold Medal, given at the 12th Florence Biennale in 2019. He was also the recipient of the Prize at the Age of Bronze competition in 2013 at the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum ‘MACAM’ Alita, Lebanon.

Yedalian is a member of the Lebanese Artists Association of Painters and Sculptors, and the Artists Union of Armenia.