Barooshian, Martin

Martin Barooshian (December 18, 1929- January 25, 2022) was an American painter and printmaker. He is known for his ability to weave a tapestry of art historical influences with modernist elements and a contemporary sensibility. His work frequently dances the line of Surrealism and Expressionism, often with a pop and op art edge, incorporating aspects of primitive, Romantic, and Renaissance art. He has worked in a wide variety of media from miniature etchings to oversized oils on canvas. These have included woodcuts, lithographs, etchings and engravings with aquatint and soft ground, monotypes, gouache and watercolor paintings, and oils. He is also known for his technical skill and innovation. Barooshian is a restless innovator with work that has moved through many periods with varying styles and transitions. However, Barooshian defines himself as a Biomorphic Abstract Surrealist after his first personal artistic breakthrough and mature style. Cate McQuaid—art critic for The Boston Globe—dubbed Barooshian's biomorphic surrealist style as “Pablo Picasso meets Stan Lee,” recognizing the blend of the modern with the contemporary. Further, she recognized that Barooshian held firm to...