Gayane Khachaturian was born in Tbilisi on 9 May 1942. She began drawing at an early age and became particularly interested in art at the age of twelve. During a prolonged period at home due to health problems, she began exploring her inner world through drawing.
Alongside her school studies, she attended painting classes at the Mose Toidze Art School, where she studied under Guguli Kurdiani. After graduating from school, she completed a preparatory course at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. On the advice of artist Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikov, however, she chose not to continue her studies at the Academy, seeking to preserve her independent artistic vision. She never received formal professional art education. For many years, she showed her work to Elene Akhvlediani and sought her advice.
Akhvlediani introduced Khachaturian to Sergei Parajanov, and the two developed a lasting friendship. Parajanov admired her talent and helped promote her work. Towards the end of his life, he gave her The Weeping Gioconda, a collage from his Gioconda series. Khachaturian chose not to keep the work in her home, as inner freedom was paramount to her.
Her work was admired by prominent figures, including Vladimir Spivakov, Martiros Saryan, and Andrei Tarkovsky. Her friends also included Gia Kancheli, Irina Uvarova, Yuri Daniel, and Bella Akhmadulina. Khachaturian particularly acknowledged Bazhbeuk-Melikov’s influence on her artistic development.
In 1971, her planned solo exhibition in Yerevan, featuring 40 works, was initially prohibited but later held at the Institute of Physics. During her lifetime, she participated in numerous group exhibitions and held solo exhibitions in Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Moscow. After her death, her works were presented at the 53rd Venice International Biennale.
In addition to painting and drawing, Khachaturian wrote poetry in Russian from an early age. Her notes have been described as examples of rhythmic prose and are considered an important key to understanding her creative world.
Gayane Khachaturian died on 1 May 2009, after a long illness.
