Girls from Madagaskar 1967

Mariam Aslamazian created this painting, Girls from Madagaskar, with oil on canvas. The artist has used expressive brushwork to portray the scene. The bold use of oil paint gives the painting a rich texture and visual intensity. The paint is applied in thick layers, capturing the light and shadow, adding to the sense of depth and volume. This tactile quality is very important, because Aslamazian is best known for her ceramics. You might even say that she has built up this painting in the same way she might build up a vase. This technique blurs the boundaries between painting and sculpture, between surface and form. It challenges our understanding of the relationship between fine art and craft, inviting us to appreciate the materiality and making process.