Khachatur Martirosyan

"After the official courses at the Academy, the professors would give us advice to better understand modern art, but it was difficult to find conversation partners and to justify creating abstract art. I resisted and never conformed to official art", says Khachatur Martirosyan. The painter was born in 1957 in Yerevan, where he has always lived and worked. After using color in his work, he now focuses exclusively on black and white. Recognized today as a master of Armenian non-figurative art, which he established at a time when only figurative art was appreciated, Martirosyan views the canvas as a spiritual, almost mystical space, allowing him to draw light in its myriad nuances.
The paintings presented for Un Week-end à l’Est are part of a series crafted from pieces of canvas stitched together with the help of his wife. These are new canvases, but often old, textured, and worn canvases are used as well, perfectly suited to the specific artistic intention of the moment. The small black sculptures that accompany the paintings serve as a sort of spiritual exercise. They play an important role in the work, complementing the paintings and creating a multifaceted artistic expression. These sculptures seek to transform the canvases into three-dimensional forms, expressing volume and space.