Abundance: vegetables 1967

Mariam Aslamazian made this painting of vegetables, called "Abundance", with bold color and energetic brushstrokes. It’s all about the materiality of paint, thick in some places, thin in others, creating a surface that's alive. The brushwork is visible, immediate – you can see the artist's hand in every stroke. Look at the dabs of contrasting color in the peppers, like she’s building up a mosaic. It's a process of layering and adjusting, of seeing what happens when colors bump up against each other, each mark contributing to the overall vibrancy. It’s like she’s trying to capture not just the look, but the very essence of these vegetables. Aslamazian reminds me of Alice Neel, in that they both have a similar commitment to color and a kind of unflinching honesty. And, like Neel, Aslamazian is less concerned with perfection and more interested in capturing the messy, vibrant truth of the world.