Grigor Gurzadya

I finished two essays – “Andromeda’s Paradox” and “Mysteries of Saturn”.
Andromeda is a galaxy and Saturn is a huge planet. Then I turned to
Paravon.
Paravon’s paintings are done in the three traditional spheres – por-
trait, landscape and still life. So I am fascinated with the forth sphere of
his activity, the revelation of a woman’s body.
The creation of a woman’s body in art, in the sculptures of the Hel-
lenistic epoch has a history of two thousand and five hundred years,
and in the frescoes it has a history of about two thousand years (Pom-
peii, Rome). Traditions in this sphere in Armenian art are scarce, and
they are beyond my aesthetic predilections.
What I seek is the charm, poetry, and lyrics of a woman’s body as a
cosmic fancy... as a dream, as a melancholy. Rodin’s works are my ideal...
Thus Paravon appeared and brought the poetry of a woman’s body
with him. It is a new phenomenon in our art. It’s the nude body painted
with wide brushstrokes, wholly with great generalizations, the poetry
of a body like a space creation...
Body in whole is depicted in the same tone, with simplicity which
reaches up to hypnotization. The nude body in the surrounding nature
and on the blue sky is sometimes blue, sometimes reddish and some-
times yellow like orange... This is the poetry, a vision belonging to an-
other world, from which you don’t know how to take away your glance.
Nude bodies are not repeated in Paravon’s paintings. They are dif-
ferent in their posture and mood, in colour solutions and especially
in their images. The most difficult of all these is to depict a back of a
woman, when means of expressions are very scarce. A woman’s body
from the back...Marvelous is “Venus before the Mirror” by Velázquez
(The National Gallery in London). Paravon’s paintings are strange
enough, especially those of nude and mysterious women. I am aston-
ished with his brilliant imagination and great mastery. The emotions
are in the extreme colour harmony in his paintings. One should feel
rather than see the tenderness of the body. Paravon Mirzoyan is an
event in the history of our art.
He continues his searches and doesn’t consider himself to be ex-
hausted. He should create new surprises as a woman’s body is exactly
the space.
Paravon follows his inner voice, and the latter is true...
The diversity of means is obvious in Paravon’s paintings. The tech-
nique of pastel has great traditions. Thus we see Paravon’s series of
pastel works depicting women’s bodies. This small pastel series made
me stand long before each work every time. One can see every pastel
stroke, thus finding nothing odd in that turmoil, everything is in its
place-body, light, colour, shade, even the darkness and the pastel
strokes... I certainly knew what pastel was, but I didn’t know what
means of expression it could be...It was really a surprise.
In my opinion, this pastel series must have its permanent place in
the museum. This is something like an alarm of raising “The Armenian
Degas” from the horizon.
...In my house in Garni music plays till late into the night, sym-
phonies of different types...
There are pictures on the walls, and lower side by side stand big and
small volumes of classic artists. Paravon’s folio full of paintings found
its place among them...