My name is Alik Assatrian. I was born in 1960 in Armenia, in a small village which does not exist anymore. As a child I started drawing and painting, and I haven’t stopped since. Art became my passion and later my profession and my life.
Gazing at the sky
Conversation with the moon (2009)I cherish a special feeling from my childhood: I knew nothing about the world, and I thought the people in my village were the only people on earth, that my village was the whole world. I knew nothing about pain and death, about time and fear, and it felt so good.
I enjoyed looking at the sky, it gave me a very special feeling. I did not know what I was looking for, I was amazed by its existence. Sometimes I gazed at the sky for so long that my neck hurt.
Years later, this little boy became the main character in my paintings. I turned his head 180 degrees, so he could look at the sky without hurting his neck.
A journey through art
As a beginning artist you use famous artists as your guide. Accompanied by them, I travelled through the history of art, and learned quickly. Then came the moment that I did not need their guidance anymore. I let them go and travelled further on my own. My challenge became to remain original and innovative. On my journey, I found back the little boy who new nothing about the world and who enjoys looking at the sky so much.
Man and his feelings
The most important theme in my art is man and his feelings, which I try to visualize. Dreams and poetry, love and fear are aspect I use as symbols in my art and my films.
Alik Assatrian.