TEHRAN -- The 83-year-old London-based Iranian-Armenian painter, Edman Ayvazian, was honored Friday with the Arshile Gorky Medal of the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora.

He received the medal from Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan during a special ceremony held at the National Gallery of Armenia in Yerevan, the Iranian cultural attach�s office announced in a press release on Saturday.

The medal was presented to Ayvazian for his notable contributions to the development of Armenian arts, Hakobyan said.

The National Gallery of Armenia also hung a collection of works by Ayvazian in an exhibition entitled �Colors of the Homeland�.

The collection unites traditions of Armenian, Oriental and European culture, the gallery said on its website on Saturday.

The exhibition displays architectural designs and landscapes created over the past 15 years.

Ayvazian attained his professional education in Rome. He then further developed and perfected his skills in London.

He has a wide scope of artistic interests; his creative ideas are expressed in various spheres of art including painting, graphic art, architecture and design.

He has made the interior designs for some Armenian churches and public and sacral buildings in Europe, Near East and Iran.

The showcase will run until December 20 at the National Gallery of Armenia, which is the country�s major exhibition venue for art.

By Tehran Times