YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. The individual exhibition of Arthur Oshakantsi (Sargsian), a painter and the founder of Abstract Naturalism, dedicated to the 16th anniversary of the independence of Armenia, opened in the municipality of Yerevan on September 28. More than eighty canvases are presented in the exhibition, in which the works dedidated to the Karabakh movement, nature and human relations take a special place. The painter, who has settled in London since 1992, mentioned that he was one of the first artists in the Soviet years in Armenia, who tried to express his political indignation by works in abstract style. "I started to create works dedicated to the Armenian Genocide and the Tricolour in the 1980s," Arthur Oshakantsi mentioned. According to Yervand Zakharian, the Mayor of Yerevan, the aim of the exhibitions organized in the municipality is to give the inhabitants of Yerevan an opportunity to become better acquainted with the works of the Armenian artists living abroad. In the words of artist Saro Sarukhanian, the works of Arthur Oshakantsi are very original. "Living in London for many years he not only has not lost his national identity, but also has created a direction, which has its influence on the works of foreign painters as well," he mentioned. The works of Arthur Oshakantsi have been exhibited in a number of European countries and in the United States of America. At present, most of the works of the painter are kept in private collections.

---