An exhibition of artists from Kazakhstan opened at the ArtWin gallery

The young ArtWin gallery has opened an exhibition of artists from Kazakhstan “All Nomads”. Authors of different generations filled the small gallery space with the support of no less than the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Sports of Kazakhstan.

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Photo: Kommersant / Alexander Shcherbak / buy photo

ArtWin Gallery was invented by sisters Mariana and Madina Gogov, daughters of a businessman from Karachay-Cherkessia. Previously, they were engaged in the MSK Eastside gallery on Baumanskaya, but the assortment of middle-class and high-pop European artists presented there did not arouse much enthusiasm outside a narrow circle of interior designers. In their second attempt to establish themselves on the art scene, the Gogova sisters show themselves brighter. They moved from the Baumanskaya factory to the very center: the strategic partner of the gallery is Maison Dellos, and ArtWin is located door to door with restaurants popular among the solvent audience. The exhibition program has also changed. Before “Nomads,” the work of the young artist Olga Kroytor, a participant, among other things, in the Industrial Biennale in Yekaterinburg, was shown here.

The decision to once again show Russia the art of Kazakhstan cannot be called original. It has long been known that the economically prosperous republic has its own scene with a strong international presence. So far, the best survey project about Kazakhstan remains “The Bride’s Face” (2012) at the Perm Museum of Modern Art, but this exhibition, which shares many names with “Nomads,” has not been seen in other cities. ArtWin does not contain overtly punk works, for which some Kazakhs like Erbol Meldibekov are famous throughout the world, but in traditional formats - painting, sculpture, photography - the situation is reflected quite correctly, albeit without pepper. The essence of the selection is in variations on the theme of nomadism, and many authors really wander between memories of the traditions of their ancestors and the richness of the practices of modern art, although there may not be any particular conflict here: a modern artist is ready to be local in any global context. The founder of the legendary group "Kyzyl-tractor", the living classic Moldakul Narymbetov, is represented by an impressive dung beetle made from car tires - the hooves of a modern nomad's horse. The rising star of the young art of Kazakhstan, Gulnur Mukazhanova, includes nomadic rituals and textures in the context of a metropolis. It is difficult to simply be a good artist under the guise of one’s nationality, and therefore many works are automatically read as inexpressive - and this impression can only be corrected by a deeper acquaintance with the authors.

Valentin Dyakonov

Nomads settled on Tverskoy Boulevard