Untitled 

This untitled painting was made by Minas Avetisyan, using what appear to be traditional painting materials. However, there is nothing traditional about the way Avetisyan uses them. The application of pigment, the way the figures are integrated into the pictorial space, has a mural-like quality. It's almost as if we’re looking at a fresco, which gives the image a sense of timelessness. One gets the impression that this painting was executed rapidly, with each brushstroke alive and visible. The artist is not trying to disguise his process. Instead, Avetisyan leaves traces of the painting’s making visible on the surface of the picture. This speaks to Avetisyan's own cultural context, in the Soviet Union, where there was a constant tension between individual expression, and a collective imperative. Ultimately, understanding this painting requires us to consider the artist's material choices, his working process, and the broader cultural context in which the work was created.