Armenia 1970

Curator: Welcome. Here we have "Armenia," a 1970 ink drawing by Martiros Sarian. Editor: Oh, my. It’s a deceptively simple, like a daydream sketched onto the back of an envelope. Mountains, suggestions of figures… the whole scene trembles with a kind of joyful abstraction. Curator: Absolutely. Sarian, though associated with the Armenian avant-garde, maintained a commitment to depicting Armenian landscapes and culture throughout his career. This piece exemplifies that, although by the 1970s his style had pared down quite a bit. We can really feel his modernist sensibilities on display here. Editor: I see what you mean. It is as though he has been chasing an impression—more interested in the emotional residue of place, memory made visible in this delicate scrim of ink. The wispy lines and near-absence of shading makes the forms seem both fragile and monumental at once. Curator: It’s interesting you mention monumentality, as even in this stripped-down form, the landscape alludes to Armenia's rich, complex history. Sarian navigated complex political landscapes himself and I see these pared-down landscapes as almost allegories, stripped to their symbolic essence by lived experience. Editor: Symbolism, yes! That's it exactly. It's funny because you can feel this grounded feeling—very specific, and maybe a little melancholy? There is something powerful about work like this when we are forced to meet art more than halfway, to create these connections for ourselves. Curator: Indeed. The power of suggestion becomes profound. It pushes viewers to connect their understanding of landscapes with their readings of histories. In "Armenia", Sarian is creating a conversation around place. Editor: What is revealed and unrevealed creates a delicious tension. It leaves me both haunted and hopeful – perfect sentiments, really. Thank you. Curator: A truly insightful interpretation. Thank you.