9-11 is my largest and most important work. I Thought about painting 9-11, but never felt as strongly about it until visiting the memorial. I saw the remaining of the towers, the fire truck. I heard the audio of people who left messages to their loved ones for the last time… I knew I was ready to paint 9-11. I painted 2977 candles – 1 candle for each victim. There is the Fire truck which is in the museum. There is the famous wall street the day of the attack, and the ruins of the buildings. Firefighters helping each other, they are devastated but not broken, they raise the American Flag to show the world – you destroyed our towers but you can not destroy our soul. This painting is about the attack but also recovery, so we see airplanes crashed, then in the middle of the painting we see the aftermath, the devastation but also a hope for tomorrow… Left of the painting is the Memorial and the rebirth, remembrance and respect to the victims of 9-11 and the Great city of NY.
The Smoke Artist
Mher Khachatryan
The sound of the violin can be sad, but deep, like smoke in the air. The silence in between the notes can be compared to a blank canvas before it is painted. A musical blend of a violin cry and silence is like the positive space and negative in a painting, allowing the spectator to understand balance; waiting for the positive to emerge from the negative.