By Peter Frank,

Many artists practice more than one style at a time – and many among those work in two (or more) very, very different styles simultaneously. But few such multifocal artists attain the stark diversity of Artak Galstyan. Employing strong and assured technical capability throughout, Galstyan delineates two entirely disparate bodies of work, work so divergent as to insist, seemingly, on the authorship of two entirely distinct hands.

With one of his own hands, Galstyan practices a straightforward realism, employed in the depiction of various animals’ faces. These are rendered in close-up – a nearness to the viewer that would be perilous in real life (perhaps to beast as well as human!). Galstyan’s dramatic choice of subject -- large, untamed apex species associated with the grasslands, jungles, and other wild corners of the world – at first seems self-consciously exotic. But the painter’s skills, developed in the rigorous academies of late- and post-Soviet Armenia, allow him to add nuance, even poetry, to his big-game visages with a slightly painterly inflection and a palette that flickers with chiaroscuro. This endows these otherwise monumental images with a vivacity that makes them endearing while keeping them imposing. These are no longer objects of the hunt nor denizens of the zoo -- but nor are they fearful monsters. They are portraits of our fellow higher mammals, symbols of nature’s intricacy and endurance.

With his other hand, Galstyan turns out non-objective paintings whose myriad markings and gestures suggest the elements of a language, of a script, of a field of marks struggling towards legibility. Galstyan is looking for that point, that moment, where language sheds its initial opacity and becomes a code for navigating the world. A recent émigré to the United States with little (if growing) command of English, the artist is constantly aware of slippages in communication, those peculiar to his experience and those natural to common interaction even in his native tongue. Language can all to readily become inchoate, Galstyan attests in these dense, buzzing paintings, and it can just as readily become revelatory.

Whether with lions or with lines, with bears or with books, Artak Galstyan addresses and celebrates the astounding phenomena that comprise the nature we inhabit and the life we share.

Los Angeles, June 2026.

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ARTAK GALSTYAN (ARMENIAN)

Artak Galstyan is a hyperrealist painter from Yerevan. Born in 1984, Galstyan’s artistic journey began at age 15 and was honed through formal education and prestigious exhibitions.  His breakthrough moment came in 2007, when he received the “Talent and Recognition” award at a Moscow exhibition. Galstyan’s mastery of hyperrealism captures the human experience with uncanny precision, evoking emotions and experiences that are both personal and universally relatable.

Each brushstroke whispers secrets which convey complexities of the human soul. Galstyan’s art is a poignant reminder of our shared humanity. His commitment to his craft is a breath of fresh air in the art world. His soulful brushstrokes have the power to heal, inspire, and unite us, leaving a lasting impact.

Represented by ACCA Beverly Hills

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