_biography

Meri Vardan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1965. She studied music at the Yerevan Music College, graduating in 1986 to become a professional musician. However, Meri loved art since she was a child, she was obliged to study music as an education. Music was for many years her lively-hood and main priority. She taught music for 6 years, before the realisation that art was her first love, which led her to resign in order to become a freelance artist.

Meri Vardan's expressive, minimalist paintings depict powerful human emotions through line and colour. Her exuberant primary colours convey a bold immediacy to her work. Her use of contrasting blues and reds complement each other and lend a feeling of balance to the paintings. The colours are daring but not overwhelming. Meri demonstrates a Matisse-like understanding of the expressive nature of line. Her human forms are simply rendered, yet convey intense feeling to the viewer. Her circular shapes seem to flow into one another, contrasting sharply with the urban environment represented by the geometric shapes often figured in the distance. Meri's paintings tell a story in which human interaction is lyrical, dynamic and evocative against the urban environment, which is represented as rigid and entrapping. The artist has noted body language as integral to the conceit of her paintings.

Meri Vardan currently lives and works in the United Kingdom.

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