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Copyright 2009 Syd Entel Galleries Susan Benjamin Glass, All rights Reserved.
Rafael Gavorkian
From a very young age, Rafael has had a talent, a compulsion even, for art
and design. Born in Greece, Rafael lived in many countries before coming
to the United States at age 28.
Rafael’s father was a vintner and when Rafael was a child, his father moved
the family from place to place before settling in the Middle East. There, in
the cradle of civilization, Rafael’s father could own his own vineyard and
make wine.
Rafael’s family sent him to technical school so he could apply his artistic
talents in the stable, albeit grey, world of mechanical engineering. Ever the
good son, Rafael completed his studies and took a job in the engineering
field.
Yet all the while Rafael was driven to create art. Rafael was not satisfied
with dry engineering projects, he needed to create big, physical, tactile
and colorful objects. In the family basement where Rafael had built his own
art studio, he brought those personal visions into existence. He
incorporated his drawings and paintings, and his favorite substrate….. glass.
Although the family would have preferred Rafael settle down with a wife
and his good job at the engineering firm, Rafael knew that his destiny was
elsewhere. Still in his early twenties, Rafael left the family home for Europe.
Landing in Hamburg, Germany, Rafael found work with an uncle who was a
jeweler.
Life in Germany was exciting and fun. Rafael was enamored of the modern
design and the European aesthetic. Rafael also enjoyed working with his
hands in the jewelry shop. Rafael savored the love and support of his
extended family in Germany, yet again there was somewhere else calling to
him. It was the USA calling. Rafael spent hours staring at the massive
American embassy building and dreaming of how he could get to the states.
As if by sheer force of will, Rafael did meet exactly the person who could
help him get to the US. Through a network of friends Rafael met an older
woman, a longtime secretary at the embassy, who admired his
determination and persistence. Rafael knew that his dream of being an
artist was meant to happen in America.
For twenty years now Rafael has worked and seen manifest the colorful
dreams of his youth. His engineering background has proven advantageous
as Rafael creates big, colorful, and often useful, art. Rafael’s love and
fascination with glass can be seen in all of his work. Glass formed by fire
and pressure. Glass colored with pigments and minerals. Glass manipulated
to create objects both beautiful and functional.
Rafael’s creative vision informs his sculpture, wall art, and functional design
projects that can be found in homes and galleries around the world.
and design. Born in Greece, Rafael lived in many countries before coming
to the United States at age 28.
Rafael’s father was a vintner and when Rafael was a child, his father moved
the family from place to place before settling in the Middle East. There, in
the cradle of civilization, Rafael’s father could own his own vineyard and
make wine.
Rafael’s family sent him to technical school so he could apply his artistic
talents in the stable, albeit grey, world of mechanical engineering. Ever the
good son, Rafael completed his studies and took a job in the engineering
field.
Yet all the while Rafael was driven to create art. Rafael was not satisfied
with dry engineering projects, he needed to create big, physical, tactile
and colorful objects. In the family basement where Rafael had built his own
art studio, he brought those personal visions into existence. He
incorporated his drawings and paintings, and his favorite substrate….. glass.
Although the family would have preferred Rafael settle down with a wife
and his good job at the engineering firm, Rafael knew that his destiny was
elsewhere. Still in his early twenties, Rafael left the family home for Europe.
Landing in Hamburg, Germany, Rafael found work with an uncle who was a
jeweler.
Life in Germany was exciting and fun. Rafael was enamored of the modern
design and the European aesthetic. Rafael also enjoyed working with his
hands in the jewelry shop. Rafael savored the love and support of his
extended family in Germany, yet again there was somewhere else calling to
him. It was the USA calling. Rafael spent hours staring at the massive
American embassy building and dreaming of how he could get to the states.
As if by sheer force of will, Rafael did meet exactly the person who could
help him get to the US. Through a network of friends Rafael met an older
woman, a longtime secretary at the embassy, who admired his
determination and persistence. Rafael knew that his dream of being an
artist was meant to happen in America.
For twenty years now Rafael has worked and seen manifest the colorful
dreams of his youth. His engineering background has proven advantageous
as Rafael creates big, colorful, and often useful, art. Rafael’s love and
fascination with glass can be seen in all of his work. Glass formed by fire
and pressure. Glass colored with pigments and minerals. Glass manipulated
to create objects both beautiful and functional.
Rafael’s creative vision informs his sculpture, wall art, and functional design
projects that can be found in homes and galleries around the world.
| SEDONA |
Click on the images to the right to see the enlarged version of Rafael
Gavorkian's art work.
Gavorkian's art work.
| SUNDANCE |
| SEDONA GREEN |
