Today we’d like to introduce you to Aazam Irilian.
Hi Aazam, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was the girl at school who everyone would come to and ask to draw something for them or were in awe of her science notebook illustrations. Being an artist was not on my radar until my ninth-grade art teacher submitted one of my pen and ink drawings to the district’s art competition. I became interested to learning about pursuing art when my piece moved up to the all-city school art exhibition. That was the beginning of my art journey.
From then on, I got my hands on any art supplies I could get and started learning about different mediums. My parents in their own way nurtured my artistic pursuits, supporting and providing what was necessary for me to learn more. They were both creatives as well. My mom with creating needlework designs and cooking, and dad with rough sketches of his small building projects he would go on to develop.
I never had any official training in the arts until I attended college. In addition to the fine arts, I studied interior design, architectural drawings/renderings, ceramics and sculpture. I’ve always loved learning and wanting to know about how things work. It’s something that I inherited from my parents, especially my dad. It is because of this “wanting to know” that I love experimenting with different material today as part of my art-making process. It seems that I’m always working on several projects at a time—somehow related to each other—pushing the material even more to see what happens. Sometimes the result is successful and sometimes not –however, it’s always a learning that leads to the next breakthrough.
My art career would not be complete without mentioning my teaching experience. You see, I wanted to inspire young people to engage in the arts—to have an outlet for their emotions and express themselves in a safe environment. For eleven years, I’m proud to say that I met my goal and have trained many young people who pursued an art career, some of whom are very successful at it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life is not easy and does not really stops because you’re pursuing your passion. And this industry overall is not easy and one has to work extra hard to get a break. That said, you just have to figure out how to work through things—deal with what comes up and not give in because things get hard.
I have had my own share of difficult times. And every time, I turned to my art and creative process to ground and balanced myself. And there have been many occasions that I pushed my art aside in order to make things happen, dealing with situations; those were the times that I regret and remember as dark emotional times in my life.
I feel that when you’re engaged in your passion, you’re feeding your soul and doing things that warm your heart—gaining strength to move forward—your passion becomes your self-care practice.
Over the years and as I became more experienced (older), I learned that regardless how difficult things get, you have to make time for you—that is what I am trying to do now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Today, painting is my medium of choice where I literally pour my heart out. It is where I come to be present and allow the creative energy to flow through me, transporting me to worlds that are “intriguing and vast.” I use color, forms and textures to inspire the viewer to also pause and be present in the moment, traveling the world of their imagination.
I start every painting by surrendering into the process—pouring paints onto the canvas, allowing them to dance and mix into each other, naturally and with ease, creating new and unique colors—some lighter, transparent and some more opaque and more intense. Intrigued by the sense of “wanting to know” asking the question of “what if,” I use variety of salt and mineral solutions as if they were another color. As colors and minerals interact, interesting patterns, textures, shapes and forms develop, creating a sense of depth and space on the canvas.
My dreamlike abstract paintings function as metaphors for the moments of stillness that punctuate the usual chaos of life. Dealing in abstraction, I generate tranquil poetic images that blur the boundaries of the recognized and unknown. In my work, time and memory always play a key role—where imagination encounters reality, meanings shift, and past and present fuse.
It is this process of surrendering, allowing and being in the flow that I was able to survive the Covid19 lockdown period of the 2020 and 2021 while living with and caring for my husband, who is suffering from dementia.
As I create, I keep pushing the boundaries, transforming the moment to one that is beyond this world—both for myself and the viewer.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Support comes in different ways and from different groups. As an artist, I’m always looking for more exposure for my work to expand my gallery exhibitions and collector base. I feel that I’m at a point in my career that another solo exhibition is due. It would be amazing to be able to work with a curator who is connected with private or university-based galleries and/or with local museums to feature my work.
My website is easy to access at aazamirilian.com where people can sign up to receive updates on new work or exhibitions I’m involved in. Those who are interested in purchasing my paintings can also contact me via email or DM through Instagram. I post regularly on IG about what’s happening in my studio, work in progress and projects I’m working on—so those interested can follow me on IG (@aazamirilianstudio). I am also available to anyone who is interested in reaching out for commissioning artwork.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://aazamirilian.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aazamirilianstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aazamirilianstudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3ZKno4q8riD4SwOin8Sflw
Image Credits:
Aazam Irilian
