Pink and sky-blue flowers 1974

Curator: Well, aren't these colors joyful? There’s something immediately optimistic and rather celebratory in this flower painting. Editor: It's certainly vibrant! What can you tell us about this particular artwork? Curator: This is Mariam Aslamazian’s 1974 painting, "Pink and sky-blue flowers." The medium used is oil paint, with quite a noticeable impasto texture, adding physical depth to the floral forms. Editor: Yes, the impasto is quite evident. I'm struck by how these aren't your typical delicate floral arrangements. There is a sense of raw energy, almost a Post-Impressionistic or Colour-Field exuberance to the application of colour. Curator: Aslamazian lived through considerable socio-political changes in the Soviet Union, and these bold floral motifs appear throughout her work. Flowers, traditionally symbolic of femininity and domesticity, here explode with powerful independence. Editor: It makes me think about public perception. During the Soviet era, paintings like these would have likely served to humanize the political climate. Curator: Perhaps, but it also defies it. Notice how the forms almost dissolve into each other, it’s intimacy, but it's not sentimental. Rather it's a re-evaluation of these visual symbols. Flowers as power, as vitality. Editor: I do appreciate your insights on how visual symbolism and intimacy play into this work's appeal. How would you categorize Aslamazian’s position in the art world? Curator: She navigates between various movements - you can see elements of Intimism, Post-Impressionism, and hints of Colour-Field painting. She’s never fully confined, always retaining this spirit of free expression through these chosen emblems. Editor: Yes, it's about more than just a "pretty picture". There are hidden messages in there! Curator: Exactly! And, in its history, that tension makes the painting very exciting to ponder.