About the artist:
Martiros Manoukian (Armenian: Մարտիրոս Մանուկյան; born August 5, 1947) is a contemporary mixed-media artist known for his unique genre of paintings categorized as Marmillism (Martiros Millennial-ism). Born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Martiros’ extraordinary abilities as an artist became evident in early childhood. At age 11, the young painter was included in an art exhibition in Moscow for aspiring high school painters, for which he won first prize. From then on, Martiros continued to create masterpieces, until age 16 when he exhibited a full collection of his pieces at the Avant-Garde Youth Expo. His piece Girl Of My Dreams, was awarded first place and brought him critical acclaim from his mentor Martiros Saryan. In 1967, Martiros was admitted to the State Academy of Fine Arts of Armenia and graduated in 1972. Martiros is regarded in the international art space as breaking through the limitations imposed by the artistic world. By painting on fabrics with combinations of watercolors, acrylics, oil and mixed metals, he is respected as a genius of fantasy with elements of Realism and Impressionism, creating artworks depicting portraits, abstract motifs and wondrous landscapes mostly influenced by nature and women. Manoukian has exhibited throughout the world including Armenia, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong and in the United States. His paintings are regarded as collectible pieces and have sold for exorbitant prices around the world.[1] Through the years, Martiros has sold unique original works in Hong Kong, Switzerland Japan or via private sales through his representative Bella Haykoff. Over the years, Martiros Manoukian honed his skills in classical painting. He began developing his own unique style of artistic expression at a young age, and further pursued this particular genre of mixed-media painting until he no longer fit any category. His mastery of combining watercolor with oil paint, acrylic, as well as gold and platinum led to the birth of Marmillism: Martiros-Millennial-Ism. Marmillism, coined by the artist himself, as his artworks, which combine Realism, Painterliness, Impressionism and his own blend of mixed-media photo-realism, possess detail and dimension that cannot be attributed to anyone else. Martiros produces five categories of art: unique original works, original series, original variations, serigraphs with artist retouching and serigraphs. In 1998, Martiros wrote and published a book captioned, Martiros Manoukian which chronicles his art style and works over the years.