Memory about adolescence 1974

Mariam Aslamazian made this painting, titled 'Memory about adolescence', sometime around 1974. The way she handles paint is so confident, it's like she's not just depicting flowers, but also the very act of remembering. Look at how she's built up the surface, the almost sculptural quality of the paint itself. See, in the lower left corner, how the thick white impasto on the drooping petals contrasts with the smoother, more transparent washes of the background. It gives the flowers a kind of ghostly presence. The head in the lower right is the same - it's not a literal representation, but a meditation on a memory. The way the colors shift and blend, and the bold brushstrokes that form the features. It’s as if Aslamazian is suggesting that memory is itself a form of artmaking, a process of selecting, exaggerating, and transforming the past. I'm reminded of Paula Modersohn-Becker, with her earthy palette and unapologetic directness.