BIO
Moushegh Karavartanian (Karamoush) is a Lebanese Armenian visual artist, born in Beirut in 1992. His work focuses on canvas paintings using acrylic and oil paint.
He has created many murals of various sizes as commissions as well as volunteer work, and participated in several local and international collective exhibitions including Heritage of Emotions at Gallerie Nikki Diana Marquardt in Paris, France in 2016, Mashrou’ PROLETKULT at AUB Byblos Bank Gallery in Beirut, Lebanon in 2016, “Provoking the Aesthetic Experience In the Quotidian” at Sole Insight in Beirut, Lebanon in 2016 and 2017, Protect ARTsakh charity art auction at artscoops.com in 2020, NEXUS online art exhibition at Bloomgallery.es, Bloom Gallery in Valencia, Spain in collaboration with Arneli Art Gallery, Beirut and Love and Love Factory, Valencia, in 2021, The Human Condition at Rebirth Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon in 2023, International Art Exchange at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan in collaboration with JAALA and Arneli Art Gallery, in 2023, and Figuration virtual 3D exhibition at Omnibus Gallery in Dresden, Germany in 2024.
Moushegh holds an MA (2021) and BA (2015) in Fine Arts from Lebanese University, Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture. He attended a private workshop at “Atelier d’art” for over 5 years as a teenager.
Moushegh Karavartanian lives and works in Beirut, Lebanon.
Moushegh Karavartanian finds the visionary works of classical masters of the Renaissance and Baroque Era, as well as the subtle sensitivity of Expressionism and Symbolism, as major influences of his artistic style, mannerism, and subject matter. He is constantly fascinated by the coded language and symbolism used in art and painting to communicate complex concepts, ideologies, emotions, and mythologies. He believes that the divine speaks to us in metaphors, and as such, he finds refuge in expressing his own understanding and experiences of the divine through symbolism.
Although the subject matter of his works does not abide by either reality or the laws of physics, his style in rendering is nevertheless grounded in realistic figuration, much like the surrealists and visionary artists of the past.
The artist initiates his artistic endeavors with an instinctive urge to express intricate spiritual subjects with their underlying concepts and emotions codified in terms of his perception and understanding of reality and by layering his work with realistic depictions of the perceived protagonists and surreal mythical atmospheres to render it more comprehensible. He generally does not restrict his palette to a specific range of colors, as life is limitless, and art is an immaculate reflection of life through an individualized lens. His works are evidences of cathartic experimentation.
In his most recent works the artist delves into the realm of creation amidst our contemporary landscape, leveraging the advancements of AI technology, particularly within the sphere of artistry. Employing AI in the sketching phase, Karamoush embarks on a journey to craft paintings imbued with classical motifs and traditional rendering techniques, employing oil paints on canvas. He portrays timeless beings, namely angels, in simultaneous states of suffering and ecstasy, thus capturing a timeless emotional moment. Drawing inspiration from luminaries like Caravaggio alongside contemporary visionaries such as Lucian Freud, Karamoush endeavors to seamlessly meld the ancient and the modern, weaving a narrative that bridges past, present, and future within the tapestry of his artistic endeavor.