Lavinya on the sofa 1948

Mariam Aslamazian painted “Lavinya on the Sofa” with oils on canvas, and I can only imagine the dance that unfolded. Look at those brushstrokes, the luscious reds and greens—they feel so deliberate, yet so free. I wonder what Mariam was thinking, setting up her easel, mixing those vibrant hues. Did she have a clear vision, or did the painting evolve, shift, and surprise her along the way? It’s like she’s capturing a mood, an atmosphere, more than just a likeness. There’s this one stroke, right at the edge of the skirt, that just sings with energy. It pulls the whole painting together, somehow. Artists like Aslamazian, they’re in conversation with each other, across time and space. They build on each other's experiments, pushing painting to its limits, inspiring new ways of seeing. It's not about the answers, but the questions painting asks.