Bright flowers 1942

Martiros Sarian made "Bright Flowers" with what looks like oil paint, and with a real hunger for colour. The paint is applied so directly, you feel like you're watching him mix those reds, yellows, and greens right on the canvas, it's like painting is a performance. Look how the edges of each brushstroke remain visible! It is such an honest record of the painting process. The thick application builds this amazing texture, you can almost smell the oil paint. Notice the way the green vase anchors the entire composition, its cylindrical form grounding the explosion of the flowers above it. The brushwork feels related to Van Gogh, but there’s something more decorative, more playful about Sarian's approach. It's not so much about inner turmoil, but an embrace of the everyday beauty of nature, with all of it's chaotic forms and clashing colours.