Orange Rocks 1958

Curator: Martiros Sarian's "Orange Rocks," created in 1958, greets us with an audacious display of color and form. Editor: My first impression is… warmth. It feels like squinting in the desert sun. The colors almost vibrate. Curator: Precisely. Sarian, deeply inspired by Armenian landscapes, captures more than just topography here. It's almost Fauvist with that intense, evocative use of oil-paint. He was working en plein air to capture those natural scenes, wasn't he? Editor: Oh, absolutely, that explains the palpable energy, the immediacy. Those impasto brushstrokes become miniaturized mountains in themselves, mimicking the larger subject, giving this rocks so much weight and texture. Orange itself—the fruit of life and warmth. The painting feels generous in spirit. Curator: It’s fascinating how he reduces these natural forms to their essential geometries. It becomes a landscape filtered through memory and emotion, almost a reconstruction rather than a straight representation. Sarian certainly embraces post-impressionism with a modern view, not strictly abstract, but definitely moving away from pure visual imitation, into emotional symbolism. Editor: The rocks remind me of the alchemical fire, transformation… a landscape undergoing constant becoming. The blue sky, almost as heavily textured as the rocks, contrasts beautifully with the assertive orange—a calming yet dynamic opposition. You know, the rocks look like a sleeping lion… Curator: I hadn’t considered that image. I perceive almost something of a sacred, ancient, primal landscape. Not quite surrealist, but deeply rooted in personal associations. And his use of geometry with very thick oil, really brings out their color. Editor: "Orange Rocks" transcends just being scenery; it's almost like an archetype. Sarian reveals how landscape resides within us, constantly shaped by emotion and interpretation. It is a simple scene made complex through technique. Curator: Indeed. The landscape filtered through an intensely subjective and evocative vision, one where the rocks aren’t just rocks, but carriers of deeper cultural, even personal significance. It is truly breathtaking when seeing them in person.