Missak Terzian, Ambassador of Joy in his Informal Paintings

Lebanese-American semi-abstract figurative expressionist contemporary painter, Missak Terzian, was born in Beirut in1949 to Armenian Genocide survivors. He studied at Ecole d'Art Guvder in 1968-1969 and graduated from London College of Printing in 1971. He held his first major art exhibition in 1984, and has since participated in 133 exhibitions worldwide.

His paintings are part of many collections in Europe, United States, the Middle East, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and the Republic of China; namely the Saudi Royal family and prominent Lebanese political figures. His works are on permanent display throughout Lebanon, at the headquarters of Banque du Liban, the Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia Museum, Haigazian University, the Bank Audi Head Office, the Sursock Museum, the Museum of Bzommar, and at the Bank of Sharjah Head Office.

With an innate and primal impulse to create, figurative artist Missak Terzian is in a timeless search for existentialism, and is eager to record time and occurrences. "For me, painting is a visual testament of the mind, body and spirit. Distortion and exaggeration trigger a continuous search into an unknown semi-abstraction," Missak explains.

He further declares his philosophy as resting on life, happiness, and the imparting of joy in his works, while emphasizing his predilection for "the couple" as his central theme, from representing reproduction and continuity-life, in essence.

Missak Terzian is presenting his exhibition "Informal Paintings" at Galerie Cheriff Tabet from March 19 to April 11, 2019.