Goy-gol 1964

Sattar Bahlulzade created this painting, Goy-gol, with an approach that feels like a delicate dance between representation and pure abstraction. The way he handles the watercolor suggests a real love for the medium. Look at how the washes of color blend and bleed into each other, especially in the rendering of the titular Goy-gol lake. It's thin, almost transparent in places, building up a luminous, watery surface. Then, on the hillside, see how these tiny spots of vibrant color, reds, yellows, and greens, form a mosaic, almost like the landscape is made of tiny jewels. There’s a sense of the physical world being dissolved into light and color. It reminds me of Turner, but with a more intimate, almost childlike touch. It celebrates the sheer joy of applying paint to canvas, embracing the process of art-making as a journey rather than a destination. It's a conversation between the visible world and the boundless possibilities of paint.