My mother 1973

Sattar Bahlulzade painted ‘My Mother’ using oil on canvas, and right away, the color grabs you, right? That tender, almost pastel palette, it's like a memory unfolding. Look at how Bahlulzade builds the image with these tiny strokes and swirls. Everything seems to be in motion, vibrating with life. The mountains in the back aren't just mountains; they're like thoughts, dreams. And his mother, cloaked in white, becomes one with the landscape. It’s the surface of the water in the foreground which does it for me; Bahlulzade has rendered the ripples and waves as rhythmic, concentric circles, which feel childlike and free. It reminds me a little of Milton Avery's simplified forms, but with an obsessive quality that’s all Bahlulzade's own. Art is never made in a vacuum, it's this amazing conversation that stretches across time. I find this piece asks us to look at the world with the curiosity and openness of a child.