Mikayel Ohanjanyan 
Legami: Ties that Bind
Curators: Christopher Atamian and Tamar Hovsepian
Carrara, mudaC | museo delle arti di Carrara
February 14 – August 30, 2026

Through five marble sculptures conceived as a single monumental installation, the exhibition explores the central themes of the artist’s most recent research: ties as forms of connection, vessels of historical memory, and expressions of resilience. These works engage with questions of identity, time, and human relationships.

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Carrara—the historic marble city that has shaped sculpture from Roman antiquity through the Renaissance and into contemporary practice—provides a resonant setting for the exhibition. It is hosted by the city’s innovative museum, whose permanent collection includes works by leading artists such as Jannis Kounellis, Lynn Russell Chadwick, and David Tremlett. Home to the artist’s new studio and a sister city to Yerevan, Carrara powerfully embodies the exhibition’s central theme of collective connection through art.

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The curators note: “Trained in Armenia and artistically shaped in Italy, Ohanjanyan’s visual language is both deeply rooted and universal. It is an honor to present his work in a city and institution of such profound historical significance.”

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For Ohanjanyan, ties—bonds that connect individuals to one another and to broader existential, spiritual, and universal forces—form the core of his conceptual framework. Each of the five sculptures, carved from white statuary marble, consists of two amorphous forms bound together by stainless-steel cables that cut deeply into the stone and traverse its surface. Ranging from monumental works (up to 121 × 210 × 90 cm) to more intimate pieces (53 × 68 × 40 cm), the sculptures embody physical tension while evoking unity and mutual dependence. Though the forms remain incomplete and inherently incompatible, their binding suggests a utopian yet necessary gesture: an attempt to reclaim a fragmented collective memory in order to engage with the present and imagine the future. Through this interplay of material, form, and meaning, Ohanjanyan raises fundamental questions about what binds us—to one another, to history, and to the world at large. Visually restrained yet conceptually resonant, the works propose a quiet reconciliation between opposing forces, offering a poetic reflection on the human condition and the invisible structures that sustain it.

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The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, to be published during its run, featuring an institutional introduction by Gea Dazzi (Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Carrara) and critical texts by Christopher Atamian, Cinzia Compalati, and Tamar Hovsepian.

 

The exhibition is promoted by the Municipality of Carrara and produced by mudaC | museo delle arti Carrara, with support for the artist from Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and Patrick Bahadourian. Technical sponsorship is provided by Kooling and Tenax SpA.

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Mikayel Ohanjanyan - biography​

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Born in 1976 in Yerevan (Armenia), Mikayel Ohanjanyan lives and works between Florence and Carrara. He received his training at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Yerevan and the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.

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Ohanjanyan has taken part in numerous major international events: in 2015 he exhibited in the Armenian National Pavilion at the 56th Venice Art Biennale, which won the prestigious Golden Lion award. In 2016, he presented two large site-specific installations for the project “La Statale Arte” at the University of Milan (La Statale). In addition, his project “Diary” was selected for Frieze Sculpture Park and exhibited in Regent’s Park, London; the work is now part of the permanent collection of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. In 2017, he participated in the first edition of STANDART, the Armenian Contemporary Art Triennial, and in the same year some of his works were shown at FIAC – On Site, outdoors in front of the Petit Palais in Paris. In 2018, he won the E. Marinelli International Contemporary Art Prize for the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, where his work is now part of the permanent collection. In 2021, Mikayel Ohanjanyan won the competition promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) / Vatican for the creation of liturgical artworks for the Church of Don Giovanni Bosco in Bagheria, Sicily. Among other awards, he has received the Targetti Light Art Award (2009) and the Henraux Prize (2014).

 

About mudaC | museo delle arti Carrara

 

mudaC | museo delle arti carrara is a cultural institution dedicated to contemporary art and serves as a community museum. Since 2012, it has been housed in over 1,200 square meters of the former 17th-century Convent of San Francesco. The museum hosts a permanent collection featuring works from the International Sculpture Biennials held between 1957 and 1973, and from 2006 to 2010, bearing witness to the city’s strong connection to artistic production and marble craftsmanship.

 

The works—primarily in marble—by internationally renowned artists document contemporary languages and techniques from the second half of the twentieth century to the present day, including sculpture, drawing, installation, video, and photography.

 

Among the many artists represented in the collection are: Jannis Kounellis, Nunzio, Remo Salvadori, Alberto Viani, Giuliano Vangi, and Gilberto Zorio.

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Exhibition sheet

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Artist/Title: Mikayel Ohanjanyan. Legami: Ties that Bind

Curators: Christopher Atamian and Tamar Hovsepian

Venue: mudaC | museo delle arti Carrara, Via Canal del Rio 1, Carrara

Dates:  February 14 – August 30, 2026

Opening: February 13, 2026 at 6:00 pm

Museum Hours: Until May 31: Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 am–12:30 pm / 3:00–6:00 pm. Closed on Mondays.

From June 1 to August 30: Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday 5:00–8:00 pm; Wednesday and Thursday 9:30 am–12:00 pm; Friday 6:00–10:00 pm. Closed on the evening of August 14, 6:00–10:00 pm.

Admission: €5 full, €3 reduced; free on the first Sunday of each month.

Info: https://mudac.museodellearticarrara.it 

Catalogue: With an institutional introduction by Gea Dazzi and critical texts by Christopher Atamian, Cinzia Compalati, and Tamar Hovsepian.

Press Office:  +39 339 8959372 | info@noracomunicazione.it | noracomunicazione.it