About the Artist:

Martiros Manoukian

B. 1947 - Even as a child, Martiros exhibited his great enthusiasm for freedom, adventure, and nature. Full of energy and the desire for self-expression, he was already quite the individual, rebelling against the status quo, conformity, and anything "collective" in character. His unusually advanced artistic ability enabled him to enter the Academy of Art in Yerevan in 1967, directly from high school. On those rare occasions when Martiros does speak about art, his thoughts are a delight to hear: "My style is life, and I like life very much. My motif is beauty; the serenade, music are my leit motif, I enjoy mixing media because art is freedom, my feelings, my victory, I do not actually know what I feel when I paint; I just paint my mood, a feeling that camera's eye cannot catch, some special, subtle angle that perhaps others would not see." His colors combine mood and movement, key elements of his work. Some works by Martiros reflect something of antiquity in his homeland, reflections of centuries-old icons of Russian Orthodoxy. Others express contemporary images. All in one way or another, celebrate love of life and freedom.