Born in Gyumri, Armenia, 1956. Lives and works in Yerevan, Armenia. Since 1978 he participated in national and international exhibitions in Armenia, Japan, Germany, including solo exhibitions in London and Los Angeles. His paintings are displayed in the Modern Art Museum of Yerevan, Armenia and in private collections around the world. In the 1980's he emerged as one of the leading young artists who began to challenge Soviet norms. His work carried the imprint of the Italian early Renaissance, Russian iconography, the Russian new avant-garde, Armenian miniature painting and current developments in post-modern art in Armenia. During the post-Soviet period, Sarkis emerged as one of the most important artists working in Armenia. Since 2009 Sarkis Hamalbashyan holds the title of Honorable Artist of Republic of Armenia. His one-person exhibitions include the one held in the New Academy Gallery, London, UK (1992); Galerie La Hune, Paris, France (1996); Die Galerie Bodenschatz, Basel, Switzerland (2001), National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia (2009); Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Yerevan, Armenia (2015) etc. Also, he has participated in numerous important group exhibitions including “Contemporary Art from Armenia 80-95”, held at the Central House of Artists in Moscow in 1995; “AGBU Contemporary Armenian Art” exhibition, Pasadena, USA in 2013, as well as Contemporary İstanbul Art Fair, İstanbul, Turkey (2014); “Selected Artworks” exhibition, Vienna, Austria (2014) etc. sarkishamalbashyan.com