Annie Kurkdjian Armenian , b. 1972

  • biography
    Born in 1972, Annie Kurkdjian had to endure sixteen years of civil war within her homeland, Beirut, Lebanon. Her childhood...
    Born in 1972, Annie Kurkdjian had to endure sixteen years of civil war within her homeland, Beirut, Lebanon. Her childhood was marked by the noise of bombs, terror, permanent insecurity and the inconsistency of ordinary things. Originally Armenian, Kurkdjian has previously faced the traumatism of the Armenian genocide through the history of her grandmother. 
     
    At the age of twelve, when her family was preparing to flee Lebanon for France, she lost her father. As a young adolescent Kurkdjian suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and realized that she had to find an outlet for the distress that was imprinted. After a period of trying to find her niche, leading through studies of management, art, followed by psychology and ultimately theology, Kurkdjian decided to turn the page in 2005 and started a new life as an artist, with regular expositions in France, Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan and several other countries.
     
    Kurkdjian paintings are sober and at the same time powerful, they portray beings in tortured postures, monstrous, grotesque. Sometimes they fixate on the beholder, with a numb eye and vaulted shoulders, as if harassed or lost. The subject of the works appear to be dissected and analyzed. They form shivery and poignant images. These big canvases breathing tragedy interrogate us about life itself, and compel the viewer to contemplate the process of creation. According to Kurkdjian, the answers lurk in the sincerity of the artistic approach: “Art is capable of sublimating everything, war, crime, shame, sickness and total hell”.
     

     

  • Works
  • Exhibitions
  • Press

  • CV

    EDUCATION

    1990 High School Diploma in Sciences | Palandjian College | Beirut, Lebanon

    1990–1994 Master’s Degree in Business Administration | Saint Joseph University | Beirut, Lebanon

    2001 Higher Education Degree in Fine Arts | Lebanese University | Beirut, Lebanon

    2004–2005 Internship in Psychiatry | Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross | Lebanon

    2005–2007 Internship in Psychology & Drawing Workshop | Lebanese Autism Society | Beirut, Lebanon

    2007 Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology | Lebanese University | Beirut, Lebanon

    — Studies in Theology | Saint Joseph University | Beirut, Lebanon

     

    SOLO EXHIBITIONS

    2025

    Wadi Finan | Amman, Jordan

    2023

    LT gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    2022

    LT Gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    Galerie 27 Concept | Paris, France

    Wadi Finan Gallery | Amman, Jordan

    2021

    Albareh Galery | Bahreyn

    2020

    Centre Intermondes | La Rochelle, France

    2019

    Galerie Europia | Paris, France

    2018

    Albareh art Gallery | Manama, Bahrein

    Espace Christiane Peugeot | Paris, France

    Artlab Gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    2016

    Boushahry Gallery | Kuwait

    Albareh Gallery | Manama, Bahreyn

    2015

    Espace Eqart | Marciac, France

    2014

    Wadi Finan Gallery | Amman, Jordan

    2013

    Galerie Théo de Seine | Paris, France

    Albareh Gallery | Manama, Bahreyn

    2012

    Maison du Sommelier | Beirut, Lebanon

    Centre Culturel Bertin Poiret | Paris, France

    2011

    Université de Balamand | Beirut, Lebanon

    2010

    Atelier "109" | Cannes, France

    Galerie Art Circle | Beirut, Lebanon

    2009

    L'Âne Bleu | Marciac, France

    Espace Albert Camus | Lyon, France

    Galerie Pièce Unique | Beirut, Lebanon

    2008

    Galerie Odile Mauve | Paris, France

    Zico House | Beirut, Lebanon

    2007

    Galerie Surface Libre | Beirut, Lebanon

    2006

    Centre Culturel Français | Beirut, Lebanon

    2005

    Goethe Institut | Beirut, Lebanon

     

    GROUP EXHIBITIONS

    2025

    International Cultural Festival of Contemporary Art | Algeria

    Firetti Contemporary | Dubai, UAE

    2024

    Salon Comparaison | Paris, France

    Cromwell Place | London, UK

    La Maison de la Culture Arménienne | Paris, France

    The LT Gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    2023

    While We're Young gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

     Biennale 109 | Paris, France

    Gallerie 27 Concept | Paris, France

    Galerie Divin Bazar, | Martres-Tolosane, France

    Millon Maison de ventes aux enchères | Paris, France

    2022

    Firetti Contemporary | Dubai, UAE

    2021

    Espace Saint-Remy | Bordeaux, France

    Galerie 21 | Toulouse, France

    Maison Relations Internationales | Montpellier, France

    Galerie L'Ane Bleu | Marciac, France

     LT Gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    Salon Menart, Cornette de Saint Cyr | Paris, France

    Yellow Cube Gallery | Paris, France

    2020

    Salon Comparaison, Grand Palais | Paris, France

    Institut Cervantes | Bordeaux, France

    Sleeping with the Enemy | Beirut, Lebanon

    Pop Up Art Gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    2019

     Salon Comparaison, Grand Palais | Paris, France

    Fann a Porter | Dubai, UAE

    Manara Arts and Cultur | Amman, Jordan

    Halle Roublot | Fontenay-sous-Bois, France

    Lebanese Talents | Beirut, Lebanon

    2018

    Center of Arts, Jackson Hall | Wyoming, USA

    Christ Church Cathedral | Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    The Cathedral Church of St. Paul | Burlington, Vermont, USA

    2017

    L'arrivage | Troyes, France

    Wadi Finan | Amman, Jordan

    Centro Centro | Madrid, Spain

    Kunstraum pro arte | Hallein, Austria

    Galerie Point Rouge | Paris, France

    L’epicerie d’art | Clermont-Ferrand, France

    St Martin-in-the-Fields Gallery | London, UK

    National Gallery of Fine Arts | Amman, Jordan

    American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center | Washington D.C., USA

    2016

    Dar el Nemr | Beirut, Lebanon

    Wadi Finan | Amman, Jordan

    Haven for artists | Beirut, Lebanon

    Khan Al funoun | Amman, Jordan

    Art Space Hamra Gallery | Beirut, Lebanon

    Lieu 37 Gallery| Paris, France

    Galerie de l’Echarpe | Toulouse, France

    Galerie Point Rouge | Paris, France

    Menier Gallery  | London, UK

    Alcultur | Algeciras, Spain

    2015

    NW Gallery | Cambridge, UK

    Galerie Point Rouge  | Paris, France

    Albareh Gallery  | Manama, Bahreyn

    Art Space Hamra  | Beirut, Lebanon

    L'Epicerie d'Art | Clermont Ferrant, France

    Biel, Rebirth | Beirut, Lebanon

    2014

    Palazzo Della Racchetta | Ferrara Italy

    Galleria 20 | Torino Italy

    L'Arrivage | Troyes, France

    Espace Christiane Peugeot | Paris, France

    2013

    Atelier Les Trois Matelots  | Courseulle Sur Mer, France

    Jamm Gallery | Dubai, UAE

    2012

    Festival Art et Dechirure | Rouen, France

    Unesco | Beirut, Lebanon

    2011

    Royal School of Arts | London, UK

    Atelier "Z" | Paris, France

    Centre Culturel Bertin Poiret | Paris, France

    Biennale Arts Hors Normes | Lyon, France

     Maison du Sommelier | Beirut, Lebanon

    2010

    Galerie Hamazkayin | Beirut, Lebanon

    Dôme Centreville | Beirut, Lebanon

    Cité des Arts (Puls’Art) | Le Mans, France

    Atelier "Z" | Paris, France

    Salon Saint Martin | Marciac, France

    2009

    Salon Sursok | Beirut, Lebanon

    2008

    Cilicie Museum - Catholicossat Arménien | Beirut, Lebanon

    2003

    Unesco | Beirut, Lebanon

    2001–2002

    Galerie Sader | Beirut, Lebanon

     

    AWARDS & GRANTS

    2014

    Prize of Fontenay-sous-Bois town | France

    2012

    Jouhayna Baddoura Award – Beirut | Lebanon

    2011

    First Prize in figurative painting, Centre Peugeot | France

    2010

    Mention special from the jury, Salon Sursok | Beirut, Lebanon

     

    ART FAIRS

    2024

    Cairo Art Fair | Cairo, Egypt

    Art Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi

    Menart Art Fair | Paris, France

    2023

    Cairo Art Fair | Cairo, Egypt

    Dubai Art Fair | Dubai, UAE

    2022

    Art Fair Dubai | Dubai, UAE

    Verona Art Fair | Verona, Italy

    2017

    Art Fair Abhu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi, UAE

    2016

    Menasart (Beirut International Art Fair) | Beirut, Lebanon

    2015

    Beirut Art Fair (MENASART) | Beirut, Lebanon

    Istanbul Art Fair (Gallery 77) | Istanbul, Turkey

    London Art 15 (art fair) | London, UK

    2013

    Dubai Art Fair, Al Bareh Gallery | Dubai, UAE

    Beirut Art Fair, Menasart Biel | Beirut, Lebanon

     

    COLLECTIONS

    • Musée Art et Déchirure, Rouen, France
    • Burlington City Arts, Vermont, USA
    • Musée de Tessé, Le Mans, France
    • Balamand University, Lebanon
    • Fontenay-Sous-Bois town hall, France
    • Jordan National Gallery, Amman, Jordan