The beauty of rural Armenia and Armenian people mirrored in Nana Gyulikekhvyan’s art

Member of the USSR Union of Artists, Honored artist of Armenian SSR, Nana Gyulikekhvyan was born in Gyumri/Leninakan. She studied at the Yerevan Art College (1942-1947) and the Art and Theater Institute (1948-1953), workshops of M.A. Aslamazyan and B.A. Kolozyan. Participant of exhibitions since 1954, including the All-Union Art Exhibition to the 50th anniversary of the USSR in Moscow (1972). Her works are mostly in the Nikolaev Art Museum.
In her work, she often refers to the images of rural workers. It is in them that she sees the manifestation of the true essence of the Armenian people and the true poetry of the Armenian land.
Pictures of Gyulikeshvans are truly national, filled with life-giving paints of mountains, forests, and land. The expressive manner of painting, generality, and brevity of images make the master’s works not just a mere imitation of folk art, but a modern, creative interpretation.
Noteworthy is the painting “Baking lavash” (1971), where we become witnesses of the creative process that is taking place – golden bread born before our eyes. The tension, hieratic attitude of the young woman’s posture give the picture some symbolic meaning. It is the praise of human labor and creativity. Works of N. G. Gyulikehyan are distinguished by deep content and close connection with the life of the working people of Armenia.