About the artist:
Yuroz is the artist of the people. Lovers, musicians, poets, athletes, the homeless, and even refugees filled his early canvases, drawing forth the spectrum of emotions and moods that reside deep in the human soul. His ability to bring this soulful human quality to fruition through his art stems from his own life experiences.
Born in Soviet Armenia in 1956, Yuroz was only ten years old when he entered the renowned Akop Kodjoyan School of Art in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. After graduating with honors, Yuroz gathered up his incredible talents and entered the Yerevan University of Art and Architecture. His natural aptitude for architecture can be seen to this day in every aspect of his art. From his original paintings to wall sculptures, from bronze and metal life-size sculptures to digital nonfungible token artwork, from functional art to luxury wearables, traces of Yuroz's masterful incorporation of layers of lines and curves with thoughtful color palettes to guide viewers in his narratives. Symbolism forms the backbone of Yuroz's body of work and the artist’s communication tool to dialog with viewers and collectors.
Yuroz is the first living American artist who has his work hung in the Vatican’s permanent collection. The Light of Compassion honors the Sainthood of Arcangelo Tadini, the Saint of the Working Woman, a masterpiece specially commissioned by Pople Benedict XVI’s Vatican office and unveiled at a ceremony in 1989 where Pope Benedict XVI blessed the painting in Botticino Sera, Italy.
In his 20s, as an architect and a blooming artist, Yuroz held political views that clashed with the Soviet regime in Armenia. He realized that creative freedom was crucial to realize his true artistic potential and decided to find a path to leave his home country. For seven years, Yuroz led a life of a refugee, imbued with compassion and understanding of those seeking new homes and fresh beginnings and it wasn’t until 1985 that the artist made his way to the United States.
Fittingly, in January 2000, Yuroz was chosen by the United Nations to be the official artist for their 50th-anniversary stamp, honoring refugees worldwide with his “Respect for Refugees” mural which was first unveiled at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. This magnificent testament to human courage not only raised funds for the United Nations, it also gave viewers a peek to Yuroz's view of the world, where individual and racial differences slide away, and the courage of refugees and humanity as a whole is brought to the surface.
In 2004, at the invitation of the United Nations to honor their global educational program on human rights, Yuroz unveiled his “Human Rights” mural, a six-panel polyptych of visual portrayal from struggles to prosperity at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Afterward, Yuroz declined the invitation to have the mural included in the permanent collection at the General Assembly Building in Geneva, Switzerland. Instead, he began a traveling program to take the mural on the road in collaboration with different museums through his charitable foundation to inspire the young and raise money for the arts.
Yuroz struggled at the beginning after he set foot in America. Freedom was bittersweet as he found himself homeless in the land of opportunity. Living on the street for eighteen months, with hope as his constant companion, Yuroz continued to create art with the supplies of the streets. Napkins and cardboard were conjured into canvas, and discarded pens were transformed into paintbrushes. Yuroz's Los Angeles street friends were portraits filling the gallery of his mind with the beauty and simplicity of life. Like the refugees who would later populate his United Nations mural, Yuroz was able to capture the survivor mentality of his homeless brethren when they made their way onto canvas, a reflection of his own burning desire to create art in his new home. With the success of this early “Hollywood Boulevard” series, Yuroz was walking his dream path.
Since that time, Yuroz's art has reached new heights and continues to climb. With all of his growth and success as an artist, Yuroz has never lost sight of his own humble beginnings and continues to donate the proceeds from a variety of originals and limited editions to numerous causes and foundations. From “The Harlequin’s Gift” Yuroz created for Comic Relief, an organization that alerts audiences to the growing American homeless population, to his role as the official artist for the Suzuki Rock ÔNÕ Roll Marathon in San Diego for eleven years, each year donating the proceeds of an original oil for sale at a silent auction to benefit the Leukemia Society of America, the artist’s zest to deliver his evergreen and universal messages with his art is unyielding.
Yuroz wants us to never forget little joyous moments in our lives. He incessantly captures capsules of those feelings and moods through his art as a reminder. Pure words cannot express the emotions Yuroz stirs in our souls.
