Nearly 60 artworks—most of which have not been exhibited in decades—reveal a lesser-known cultural landscape of Armenian art during the Soviet era, uncovering hidden perspectives of cultural autonomy within a constrained political system. Topographies of Dissent: Armenian Art from the Dodge Collection, which opens at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers—New Brunswick on Sept. 27, 2025, features more than 30 artists who captured the ideological, stylistic and aesthetic diversity of Armenian nonconformism from the 1960s to 1990. Read the full announcement.
Topographies of Dissent is the Zimmerli’s first exhibition dedicated to Armenian nonconformist art, prompting an international curatorial partnership. Zimmerli curator Julia Tulovsky, head of the museum’s Department of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union and Arts of Eurasia, collaborated with Lilit Sargsyan, one of Armenia’s leading art critics, and Armen Yesayants, an art historian and curator of the National Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Based in Yerevan, Armenia, both guest curators selected works from the museum’s internationally renowned Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art.
Free & open to the public. Visit the event page on our calendar for all details, including free parking registration.
Image: Armine Galents, "Katoghike Church in Talin, Armenia," 1983. Oil on canvas. Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union. Photo Peter Jacobs.
