Full Circle: The Art of Barry Martasian

Barry Martasian giving a talk at his painting exhibit ‘Full Circle’ at the Armenian Museum of America

WATERTOWN, Mass.—The art of Barry Martasian was the dynamic focus of the exhibit “Full Circle” that drew many visitors to the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown on Sun., Nov. 29.

Martasian, an Abstract Expressionist painter from Rhode Island, has filled 6 walls of the museum with more than 40 powerful paintings. Over and over, he uses the form of the “circle” to symbolize the phases of human and spiritual love. His second-generation Armenian-American soul vividly displays its pain in the saturated colors of four dramatic pieces inspired by the genocide.

With photography as his first love, in the 1980’s Martasian became interested in graffiti. This rekindled his dormant passion for abstract expressionism born when he was in college, where he studied with a teacher involved in the New York School of Abstract Expressionism of the 1960’s.

Martasian kept more than 20 visitors riveted when he spoke about himself as an artist and his paintings. When asked about his work, he said, “The act of creation is not to be taken lightly; those who speak through the arts have a responsibility to the truth.”

Experience this powerful exhibit of love and loss through Jan. 17, 2016, at the Armenian Museum of America, 65 Main St., Watertown.