Heating Pipes, Kamaz 1973

Petros Malayan made this painting, Heating Pipes, Kamaz, with what looks like watercolor and ink, giving it this kind of gritty, industrial feel. I’m drawn to how Malayan focuses on the everyday aspects of industrial life, the pipes, the scaffolding, the workers, all rendered with such a direct, unadorned touch. Look at the pipes themselves, how he uses these quick strokes to give them volume and weight, but also this sense of being temporary, in transit. Then there’s the figures in the background; just these simple silhouettes that are enough to suggest a whole world of activity. Malayan reminds me of some of the social realist painters, but with this very personal, almost folk-art sensibility. He’s not just documenting; he’s feeling something about this place, the way we all do, making sense of a bigger picture one object at a time.