Dusk brings a peaceful energy to Kapan. As the sun sets, the commotion of this small city in Armenia’s southern Syunik province settles, and it’s the perfect time for Ubak to begin his work. He sets up his oil paints and canvas and finds his own state of peace. His creations reflect his fondest memories, often from his childhood of mischief, but sometimes, he has to paint today’s reality.

A changing pallette

Ruben Kostandyan, known by his artist name, Ubak, is a 66-year-old artist based in Kapan who creates vibrant paintings and graphics that he has shown in exhibitions around the world. The walls of his studio are covered from the floor to the ceiling in colorful, bright pieces that reflect the happiest moments of his childhood, but the paintings that stand out the most amongst the sea of color are the ones that hold solemn memories.

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

After the war in 2020, Ubak painted one of the few pieces that required a range of grays on his palette. The subject is a man sitting down juggling the three colors of the Armenian flag, and it’s meant to depict how the situation in Armenia feels unstable and dark. He doesn’t like to paint the sad parts of life, and it’s very rare that he does so.

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

“Sometimes there is something inside your soul and you need to express it. And I say, ‘okay, it’s better if I express it by painting so it gets out of me,’” he says.

A vibrant past

Ubak’s life growing up was the opposite of dark. As a young boy, his mother often brought him to the library to keep him out of trouble. There, he discovered Armenian miniaturism, the colorful artwork that covers the pages of Armenian manuscripts.

“This color shaped my art,” he says. “This is what shaped our roots as well. It was for the testimonies, the Evangelists, decorations like this.”

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

The vivid reds and blues that surround the pages of Armenian manuscripts fascinated Ubak. He says Armenian miniaturism shaped his way of thinking from a young age, and it connects his art to his roots.

He remembers his childhood living in a village at the base of Mount Khustup as a time with no war or conflict, and says those times were the happiest moments of his life. One of Ubak’s fondest memories from childhood was a moment that showed his mischievous nature, and he created a graphic based on the story. He remembers misbehaving one day, so he was tied to his grandfather’s donkey and slept there for two hours. That was one of his favorite memories from childhood because of the humor of the moment, and it’s a recurring theme in the pieces that reflect his childhood memories.

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

The name “Ubak” is another part of his artist identity that came from his childhood. Growing up, he was given the nickname “Rubik” based on his first name “Ruben,” and the nickname eventually evolved to “Ubak.” Since so much of his work depicts memories from childhood, he found it fitting to use his childhood nickname as his artist name.

The colors of today

Ubak has always wanted to stay in Kapan despite getting many offers to work in cities outside of Armenia. He has always felt connected to the land because the city is surrounded by nature – his favorite part about living in the region.

“I get my energy from Kapan,” he says.

Kapan is a city located close to the Azerbaijani border, and the small border villages face constant tensions and threats in this region. Ubak tries not to think about the nearby dangers, just as his paintings depict mostly the positive parts of life. He says if he wakes up and the sun is shining, he is happy.

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

Not all of Ubak’s work is focused on childhood memories, but it always reveals his personal touch. He has paintings of Holy Mary and Jesus on display in churches, but he didn’t conform to the typical depiction, letting his colorful, quirky style shine through. In one of the pieces, Ubak added Armenian touches to the rendition. The painting shows lavash being baked, and it’s composed in a way that makes it look like the angels are giving bread to the people.

His best guests

The Armenian Miniatures that inspired Ubak to become an artist help tell Armenian history, and his own work tells the history of what a peaceful childhood in Syunik once looked like. He can’t see the impact of his creations, but he says he wants his art to make people happy.

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

Ubak has showcased his work in a number of exhibitions in Yerevan and around the world including in Paris, Moscow and Abu Dhabi. In Yerevan, critics told him that it has been a long time since an exhibition was as brightly colored as his, and children were immediately drawn to the brilliant colors that depict his memories from when he was a child himself.

The children are Ubak’s best guests, he says, because of the honesty that comes with a child’s expression. When he sees their smiles, he knows his work is achieving his goal of bringing love to people.

“It’s like my painting is music,” he says. “It touches the soul. If I’m successful there, then I can say that I’m successful, that I influenced in a better way because I brought some happiness with my colors.”

Photo: Charlotte Snoonian/Mediamax

When the sun sets on Kapan, Ubak’s time for creation rises. With each brush stroke, he brings his happiest, most peaceful childhood memories to life, and the completed paintings form new, happy memories for children growing up in a beautiful, yet vulnerable, region.

By Charlotte Snoonian

Charlotte Snoonian is an Armenian-American student from Boston. She has arrived in Armenia through the initiative of The Armenian Project (TAP) created by the Hovnanyan Foundation and is working as an intern at Mediamax media company.