Flowers 1967

Martiros Sarian's 'Flowers' is a riot of colour and loose brushwork, and you can almost feel him building up the image, shifting things around, making decision after decision. I imagine him wrestling with the composition. I see the thick paint, almost sculptural in places, especially where those reds and yellows clash. Look at the confident strokes that define the petals. Each dab feels deliberate, a small explosion of energy, like he’s channeling Matisse. The paint application is physical and emotive, and the flowers feel alive! There’s a dialogue happening here between the artist and the subject. It's like Sarian is saying something new about how to see flowers, or maybe how to feel them. Ultimately, painting is always a conversation, across time and between artists. It is through this ongoing exchange that we keep pushing the boundaries of what art can be.