November 19, 2011 - 12:57 AMT
Artist Emil Kazaz’s works to be sold to benefit Telethon 2011

Works by world famous Armenian-American artist Emil Kazaz will be displayed at the Armenia Fund Annual Gala this coming Sunday, November 20 at the Hilton Glendale Hotel.

12 masterpiece sculptures like The Sheep of Golgotha and Bacchus of Venice as well as paintings like The Third Day of Sacrifice and Venus di Milos will be offered for sale benefiting Armenia Fund's Telethon 2011 raising funds to provide clean drinking water to residents of Nagorno Karabakh. In addition, Emil Kazaz has also donated a mixed media painting to Armenia Fund valued at over $9,000.

"We are grateful to Emil Kazaz for his willingness to help Armenia Fund raise funds as the organization works hard make sure that every resident of Artsakh has round-the-clock supply of clean drinking and irrigation water," said Sarkis Kotanjian, Executive Director of Armenia Fund, U.S. Western Region.

Emil Kazaz was trained as an artist in the traditional academy style. Born in the city of Gyumri, Armenia, he began his studies at the age of seven, studying sculpture at the local art school and later attending the Mercurov School of Art at the age of twelve. Moving to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Kazaz continued his studies at the Panos Terlemezian Art Institue, graduating in 1972. Soon after, he attended the State University of Fine Arts and Theatre, graduating in 1978 with honors.

In 1980, he settled in Los Angeles. His life since then reads like an aspiring artist's dream come true - a steady stream of exhibitions in Europe, Asia, South America, Canada, and throughout the United States, gaining critical international recognition along the way.

Emil Kazaz has earned the highest state awards of Armenia: The Medal of "Movses Khorenatsi" for significant creative achievements in the sphere of Armenian Culture and Art; The Medal of "St. Mesrop Mashtots" for significant achievements in promoting the development of the cultural cooperation of the Republic of Armenia with foreign countries; The "William Saroyan" Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora for supporting the development of Armenia-Diaspora partnership and notable contribution to assistance in the preservation of Armenian identity; and the prestigious Lorenzo Medici medal from the Florence Biennale in 2003 and Grande Lorenzo il Magnifico (Medici) Prize in Sculpture from Florence Biennale 2007 and 2009. Emil Kazaz lives and continues to create in Los Angeles.