Alisa Asatryan
Year of birth: May 1991.
Where do you live: Born in Gelendzhik, Russia, I now live in Yerevan, Armenia.
Your education: Stieglitz Academy of Art and Industry 2009-2015, Department of Architectural Environment Design, St. Petersburg.
Describe your art in three words: I prefer not to limit myself to specific words in art.
Your discipline: I primarily work with acrylic on canvas.
Can you tell us about your early experiences in art school and how they shaped your artistic journey?
Art school wasn’t a pivotal moment in my life that shaped my art. Instead, it taught me valuable lessons in time management, understanding limitations, and working efficiently and punctually. These skills are beneficial in any field, not just in art.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your mentor, Leonid Petrovich Lyakh?
“You need to leave this city (Gelendzhik); it will suffocate you, as it suffocates everyone.”
Although he prepared me and many others specifically for entrance exams to higher art institutions, that was not the main thing. What mattered most to me was his image — the image of a true artist who lives and breathes art. His paintings, hanging on the walls, always inspired and amazed me. His small room with a huge wooden easel, smeared with paint, seemed to whisper, ‘Stay here.’ Leonid Petrovich was a true mentor, a parental figure.
Alisa Asatryan | I AM EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS ME | 2024
Your works exhibit a unique blend of abstract and concrete elements. Can you explain your process of merging these two styles?
Actually, I don’t set any limits for myself in art. Like many other artists, I’m sensitive to many things, if not everything. That’s why my work can be entirely abstract or depict a human figure, each carrying its own unique meanings connected to human essence.
What specific life experiences or observations have significantly influenced your recent works?
It’s hard to pinpoint a single moment, but I can safely say that August 2022 was transformative. Shortly before that, I moved to Armenia, where it felt like I was surrounded by art. The air seemed saturated with creativity. It was then that I decided to pursue art professionally. Until that point, painting had been my hobby since my school years.
Alisa Asatryan | VULNERABILITY | 2023
Could you discuss the inspiration and process behind one of your recent pieces, such as “VULNERABILITY” or “TERRA. Vibe”?
Almost all of my work comes to me spontaneously, driven by feelings rather than specific events. However, “TERRA. Vibe I” and “TERRA. Vibe II” had a different origin. While organizing my first solo exhibition, “Gazing into the Silence,” I had a concept in place, but one element was missing. I needed to depict the instability occurring not within a person, but externally. Once I identified this missing piece, an image formed in my mind, leading to the creation of two paintings that complement each other perfectly. They reflect my perspective on the current external state of the world.
How has your art changed or evolved since you first started, and what has remained consistent?
I began engaging with the art world professionally only recently, since the end of 2022. It’s hard to say if there will ever be a moment when my painting stops evolving because life changes every day. Everything is constantly evolving and transforming. However, one thing remains unchanged for me: the study of the human being, their internal states, and their reactions to the external world.
Alisa Asatryan | Pandora.Awaiting | 2024
In your opinion, what is the most important quality for an artist to possess?
That’s a good question. This is precisely the topic that excites me the most and that I explore in my art — resilience & hardiness. It’s about the ability of a person not only to live harmoniously through all external changes, no matter how challenging they may be, but also to transform these changes for their own benefit. I am currently working on organizing a group interdisciplinary exhibition on this theme.
Your child wants to go into art. Your task is to convey important thoughts about this path to help them join this journey as easily, safely, and interestingly as possible, while also getting to know you better.
For me, art is the most important part of human life. It’s not just about creating beautiful pictures; it’s about transformation. This is why contemporary art matters to me — it reflects what we should pay attention to today. I don’t concern myself with whether a particular work will be significant in a hundred years; what matters is that it resonates and is understood now. It doesn’t matter what a person finds in the artwork; they will definitely catch something meaningful for themselves at that moment.
I believe art is the voice of God, and artists are translators of this information. If being an artist is a true desire of your soul, then you have no other path. You must approach this profession with the utmost responsibility and honesty.
Alisa Asatryan | TERRA. Vibe II | 2024
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