Papers: flame 1978

Mariam Aslamazian's 'Papers: flame' is a painting of peppers, likely oil on canvas, that bursts with a warm and inviting energy. The way she builds up the forms with these confident strokes, its less about making a perfect picture and more about capturing the feeling of a sunny day and a bountiful harvest. Up close, you can see how Aslamazian really lets the paint do its thing. It’s thick in some places, thin in others, and you can almost feel the movement of her hand as she laid down each stroke. Take a look at the individual peppers and how the color changes around the edges. Its like she’s not just painting what she sees but also what she feels – the warmth, the spice, the life in these peppers. Aslamazian reminds me a little of Matisse, actually, in the way she uses color and shape to create a sense of joy and vitality. But she's definitely got her own thing going on here, a real love for the stuff of life.