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Born in 1942 in Istanbul, Turkey


1968, B.F.A/M.F.A, Academy of Fine Arts, Istanbul, Turkey
"My artwork reflects my personal history.

I was born and raised the son of an Armenian father and a Greek mother in Istanbul, Turkey, the old Byzantine city of Constantinople. At an early age, I started working on canvas, and discovered texture. The surface of a stained and weathered wall, the bark of a tree, an old manuscript, a mosaic, a fresco, a Hellenistic or Etruscan temple, or an icon all fascinated me.

With respect to my newest work, The Bread Series, the bread, which is the staff of life, was taken away from my ancestors. It represents victims of oppression. My grandparents and many others died of starvation. I immortalize the bread within my concepts. It is an organic metaphor. It is the cycle of life.

The form is expressive. If you look closely, you can never find one single slice of bread similar to another. This accelerates one's imagination.

I use my ethnic background as a source of my creativity. The Byzantic, the Armenian culture, the formation of a manuscript, the historic texture of the walls of the city where I was born. In the Orthodox and Gregorian Churches, the Holy Book is immortalized with gold or silver. I do the same thing with a group of my paintings known as The Bread Series.

What I try to do with The Bread Series is to picture the life cycle itself within my interpretation. The found object I use is bread, which is symbolic, textural, and ordinary. The earth is part of the organic cycle, which represents peace and life.

If my work remains in someone's mind and touches someone's heart and soul, my statement is complete. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my work with you."

Apo Torosyan, August 1996

  • Selected Solo Exhibitions
  • 2002:
  • Solo Show and Installation Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Pittsfield, MA

  • Barbara Gillman Gallery, Miami, FL

  • Bread Series Middlesex Community College, Bedford,Ma

  • 2001:
  • Questioning Identity and Bread Series Framingham State College Framingham, MA

  • Bread Series and Installation Marlboro College, Marlboro,VT

  • Bread Series Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA

  • 2000:
  • Marion Arts Center, Marion, MA

  • Bismarck State College, Bismarck, ND

  • Manchester Community College, Mancheser, CT

  • Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts, Little Falls, NY

  • Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack, NJ

  • Left Bank Gallery, Dove Canyon, CA

  • University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

  • Westfield State College, Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield, MA

  • University of Southern Oregon, Ashland, OR, Bread Series

  • University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, Bread Series

  • 1999:
  • The Happy White Gallery, Barrington, RI, Bread Series

  • Sharon Arts Center, Killian Gallery, Bread Series

  • DeLann Gallery, Plainsboro, NJ, Works from Nature

  • Mill River Gallery, Ellicott City, Bread Series

  • Indiana Purdue University, Ft. Wayne, IN, Bread Series

  • Wenatchee Valley College Campus, Wenatchee, WA

  • Providence College, Providence, RI, Bread Series

  • 1998:
  • OIA Gallery, Van Nuys, CA

  • Mashdots College, Glendale, CA

  • Charles River Yacht Club, Campidge, MA

  • ALMA Museum, Watertown, MA

  • Rogue Community College, Firehouse Gallery, Grants Pass, OR

  • Sacred Heart Uniiversity, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Fairfield, CT

  • Endicott College, Beverly, MA

  • MIT Sloan School of Management, Dean's Gallery, Cambridge, MA

  • 1997:
  • Charles River Yacht Club, Cambridge, MA

  • Tofias Gallery at the Fort Hill Brew House, Boston, MA

  • Tofias Gallery, in Waltham, MA, USA

  • Charles River Yacht Club, Cambridge, MA

  • University of Tennesse, Knoxville, TN

  • 1996:
  • Hooper Mansion, Marblehead, MA

  • Charles River Yacht Club, Cambridge, MA

  • 1995:
  • Charles River Yacht Club, Cambridge, MA

  • Bachman Gallery, Munster, IN

  • 1994:
  • Oberland Mansion, Berverly, MA

  • Charles River Yacht Club, Cambridge, MA

  • Gorky Gallery, New York, NY

  • 1993:
  • T.A.C.A Gallery, Montreal, Canada

  • ALMA Museum, Watertown, MA


  • Selected Group Exhibitions
  • 2001:
  • Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO

  • Bread Series The Legacy of Absence Project, New York, NY

  • Questioning Identity Framingham State College, Framingham, MA

  • 2000:
  • Bradford College, Laura Knott Art Gallery, Bradford, MA, Witnesses

  • Gull Lake Galleries, Richland, MI

  • 1999:
  • Cleveland, OH, Spaces, Silenced Voices

  • Chemtka Community College, Salem, OR

  • New Visions Gallery, Marshfield, WI

  • Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, MA

  • Pedestrian Gallery, Jacksonville, FL,

  • Arlene G. Becker Gallery, New York, NY,

  • 1998:
  • Objects and Images Fine Arts, Bronxville, NY,

  • Hansen Art Association Publications, Hauppauge, NY

  • Left Bank Gallery, Dove Canyon, CA

  • Bravos Gallery, Georgetown, MA

  • Tofias Gallery, Waltham, MA

  • 1997:
  • Grosse Pointe Gallery, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

  • Firehouse Gallery, Bordentown, NJ

  • Soho Galleries, Foley, AL, Pensacola and Destin, FL

  • A.R.A Gallery, South Hamilton, MA

  • Tom James Gallery, Westwood, NJ

  • Mingo Gallery, Beverly, MA

  • Diane Levine Fine Arts, Boston, MA

  • 1996:
  • Tom James Gallery, Westwood, NJ

  • Tofias Gallery, Waltham, MA

  • Boston Corporate Art, Boston, MA

  • A.R.A Gallery, South Hamilton, MA

  • Marlborough Gallery, Boston, MA

  • 1995:
  • Boston Corporate Art, Boston, MA

  • Marlborough Gallery, Boston, MA

  • 1994:
  • Waterfront Gallery, Muskegon, MI

  • Mingo Gallery, Berverly, MA

  • Annuaire de l'Art International, France

  • 1993:
  • Mingo Gallery, Berverly, MA

  • Musee d'Art Moderne, Bordeaux, France


    •

    • Selection of paintings from Apo Torosyan

    New Works, The Bread Series, by Apo Torosyn

    Read the guestbook of Apo Torosyan

    Sign the guestbook of Apo Torosyan

  • 1996: Contemporary Arts Center Grant Award, North Adams, MA

  • 1994:
  • Lynnfield Art Guild, First Prize, Lynnfield, MA

  • Manhattan Arts, International Cover Arts Honorable mention, New York City, NY

  • 1993:
  • Selected by the Jury de la Presse to appear in Annuaire de l'Art International 1994, France

  • Musee d'Art Moderne selects My Father's Letter, Tonneins (Bordeaux), France


    •

    • Read what the press is saying about Apo Torosyan

  • Interviews:
  • July 26th, 1995: Radio Interview on Walden Radio (supported by Art New England), Concord, MA

  • November 27th, 1994: Radio Interview on USA Talk America, Boston, MA

  • October 27th 1994: TV Interview on CCITV, Cambridge, MA


  • Reviews:
  • The Armenian Reporter, Fresh Meadow, NY, August 19, 2000

  • The Siskiyou, Southern Oregon University, January 2000

  • News Press, Fort Myers, FL, April 1999

  • North Shore Sunday, Danvers, MA, November 1999

  • Boston Globe, Boston, MA, February 1998

  • North Shore Sunday, Danvers, MA, January 1998

  • Nor Gyank, Glendale, CA, October 1998

  • Art New England, Boston, MA, August/September 1998

  • Salem Evening News, Salem, MA, August 1994, '95, '97, January 1998,

  • Lynn Daily Item, Lynn, MA, May 1997

  • Dialogue, Cleveland, OH, March-April 1997
  • Mirror Spectator, Watertown, MA, '95, '96, '97, October 1998

  • Armenian Weekly, Watertown, MA, '95, '96, '97, October 1998

  • Armenian Reporter, Fresh Meadow, NY, '94, '95, '96, '97, October 1998

  • Marblehead Reporter, Marblehead, MA, September 1996

  • ARTSPEAK, New York, NY, January 1995


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