She waits for her sons 1960

Mariam Aslamazian made this painting, 'She waits for her sons', with oil on canvas, and the marks and colours feel really grounded in a direct process. There’s this amazing tension between the flatness of the overall composition and the real weight and presence of the figure. The paint has a beautiful matte quality, and you can almost feel the texture of the canvas coming through. I’m drawn to the way Aslamazian handles the black shawl. It’s not just a mass of darkness; it’s built up with layers of deep blues and purples, giving it a sense of volume and depth. Then there are these small bright strokes of white along the edges, like the light catching on the folds of the fabric. It’s these small details that really bring the painting to life. This painting reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who was interested in representing women's lives with honesty and empathy. Like Modersohn-Becker, Aslamazian seems less concerned with idealized beauty and more with capturing a sense of lived experience, opening a space of imagination around the artwork.