By Alin K. Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
WATERTOWN — Painter Andrey Allakhverdov not only appreciates the talents and styles of various artists, but he wants to pay homage to those artists the best way he knows: through painting.
The hallmark style of Allakhverdov is including a likeness of artists in an immediately identifiable work of theirs.
“Painters’ lives are very tragic. Many died at a young age,” he said in a recent interview.
“My idea was to take the work of the artistes to include the artist,” he said through a translator.
It was ironic, he said, that there are artists, such as Arshile Gorky who have lived longer though their art than in actual years.
Allakhverdov was born in Baku in 1947 to a family originally from Shushi, Karabakh. Eventually, he moved to Moscow.
He received his bachelor’s degree in art from the Moscow State Art University. He has been a member of Moscow Art Union since 1979 and a member of Art Union of Soviet Union since 1988. He was an apprentice and later a good friend of noted Soviet Armenian painter Dmitri Nalbandyan. He has had numerous exhibitions both in Russia and overseas.
For the past four years, he has divided his time between Boston and Moscow, with the majority of his time spent in the US. He does, however, have a studio in central Moscow.
His family is similarly in both locations. He has three children; two are in the US and one in Moscow.
Allakhverdov said that one of his major goals is to bring together artists from the US, Russia and Armenia, not only in person but through introducing them through his paintings.
“I want to help bring together the Armenian, Russian and American genres. Many don’t know each other’s art,” he said.
Allakhverdov was born in Baku to a family originally from Shushi, Karabakh. Eventually, he moved to Moscow.
For Allakhverdov, style takes a back seat to his goals of bringing together art and artists. Still, he does prefer realism, but uses other genres too.
“I have an internal calling and movement that make me work,” he said.
His works are currently on sale through his website. To see more of his works or to contact him, visit www.allakhverdov.com
