Poppies 1958

Martiros Sarian made ‘Poppies’ using paint and canvas, and I imagine, a whole lot of looking. The dominant moves in this painting are the luscious, thick strokes of red, forming these vibrant poppies. You can almost feel Sarian building up the layers, searching for the right tone, the perfect shape. I wonder if he was thinking about Matisse, another lover of color, pushing the boundaries of what a flower could be. There's something so raw and immediate about the application. He really went at it, didn't he? It's like he's wrestling with the paint, trying to capture not just the look of the poppies, but their essence, their energy. The surfaces create an almost palpable tension. Painters are always talking to each other across time. Sarian’s poppies, with all their bold color and energetic brushwork, remind us that painting is a conversation, an ongoing exploration of how we see and feel the world. It’s not about getting it right but about keeping the dialogue alive.