About
Minas Halaj graduated from University of Fine Arts, Yerevan, Armenia in 2002. He moved to the United States in the same year and studied in 2004 at the University of Art in San Francisco.
Born into an artistic family, Minas grew up dreaming only about art and creating his own art world. He can remember himself drawing since he could remember, experiencing and exploring the medium. He worked with various materials such as recycled, old, vintage clothes, and textiles. For Minas, he would just create and not think about a particular style, or label his works in any way.
The concept of beauty is a burdened one. We live in a society that fears its adoration in contemporary art, yet intimidates its women into accepting it as their highest value. We have degraded it in mass media and the celebrity yet revere it above all other qualities of life. Beauty is a double-edged sword, an instrument of seduction and inaccessibility burdened by an overwhelming distrust in the simple sensation of pleasure.
The Floral Minds collection is vibrant and reminiscent of the Old Masters. Incorporating elements of classical education with contemporary influences, Minas’ art manifests itself by way of a symphony of graphics, sculptures, collages and figurative compositions. He uses a variety of recycled material including tar as part of the background and pieces of a pre-Victorian dress to add texture and dimension, making his work deeply complex.