25 July – 10 August
Exhibition of Uzbek landscape artist Amir Khalikov called “Water and Stones” was held in Kiev. Representatives of different ministries and agencies of Ukraine, diplomatic corps and journalists attended inauguration ceremony of the exhibition. Every picture of the artist, being a new step in understanding the truth, expresses the idea of eternity of water and stone in a symbolic form and in the form of landscape.
27 July – 15 August
Personal exhibition of Akmal Nur, the People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, was held in the Moscow Gallery of Contemporary Fine Art “Sovkom”. Akmal Nur is an original artist who participated in many art exhibitions, both national and international. His works are presently kept in different museums at home and abroad, as well as in private collections.
8 – 20 August
The Chorsu Gallery (Samarqand) housed a national exhibition titled “Samarqand Painting School” dedicated to the 2750th anniversary of Samarqand. It presented the works of renowned masters of early 20th century who lived and worked in Samarqand, as well as the works of contemporary artists who keep up the traditions of the painting school born in the beginning of the last century.
9 – 25 August
The Fine Arts Gallery of Uzbekistan housed an exhibition called “Masterpieces of Oriental Manuscript” scheduled to coincide with events marking the announcement of Tashkent the Capital of Islamic Culture. The exhibition presented 13 unique manuscripts and 15 not less unique miniatures from the collection of the Abu Raikhan Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies. The exhibits give a comprehensive idea about the pieces of miniature art of different local schools and the diversity of calligraphy scripts. The exhibits include manuscript works by Sharafiddin Ali Yazdi, Alisher Navoi and Abulkasym Firdousi.
20 August – 20 September
“Photo-annals of Uzbekistan: Tashkent – Samarqand”. This was the title of an exhibition held at the Tashkent House of Photography (THP) dedicated to the 16h anniversary of independence of Uzbekistan and the 2750th anniversary of Samarqand. It presented about 100 unique archive photographs dating early 20th century and the works by contemporary photographers.
27 August – 10 September
An exhibition called “Warmth and Love for the Homeland” was held at the Central Army Museum of Uzbekistan with support from the Creative Union of Artist under the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan; the exhibition was dedicated to the Independence Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
28 August – 13 September
The Central Exhibition Hall (CEH) housed a republican art exhibition-contest called “Eng ulug, eng aziz” (“The Greatest, the Dearest”) to mark the celebrations of the Independence Day of Uzbekistan. Displayed items represented cultural heritage of the people, their national traditions and the development of painting during the period of independence. The works of the artists from all over the country demonstrated different trends and kinds of art: painting, graphic arts, sculpture, miniature, ceramics, embroidery, print, textile, wood carving, etc. The winners of the contest were awarded diplomas and memorable prizes.
5 September – 5 October
Fine Arts Gallery of Uzbekistan held the exhibition of paintings from the collection of Fergana province museum of local lore, dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of Margilan city. The exhibition displayed a unique collection of painting from the museum assets including the works of artist who lived and worked in Fergana, namely A. N. Volkov, M. N. Yantsin, P. M. Nikiforov, S. Yudin, N. Kashina and others, as well as the works of contemporary masters from Fergana.
20 September – 10 October
The Ikuo Hirayama International Caravanserai of Culture of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan was the venue of an exhibition called “Uzbekistan as Seen by Polish Artists”, with the participation of the diplomatic corps representatives accredited in Uzbekistan, and representatives of local and foreign media.
21 September – 21 November
An exhibition called Wols. Photographs – Watercolours – Printed Graphic Arts” was held at the Fine Arts Gallery, organized by the Institute of Foreign Affairs with support from Goethe Institute in Tashkent. A well-known artist Wols (Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze, 1913-1951) belonged to the group of vanguard artists of 1940s-1950s. Their movement was based on the idea of new artistic freedom after the gloomy years of fascist sway. The exposition comprised 40 monochrome photographs, 12 watercolours and 33 prints most explicitly illustrating the influence of surrealism upon the artist.
26 September – 14 October
The Fine Arts Gallery housed an exhibition of Korean artists living in Uzbekistan. It was organized in the framework of events dedicated to marking 70 years since ethnic Koreans have been living in the country. The exhibition was inaugurated by H.E. Kyong Dzhe Min, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Uzbekistan, Mr. N. Mukhammadiev, Director of the International Cultural Centre, and Dr. V. Shin, Director of the Association of Korean Cultural Centres. The exposition displayed the works of the following artists: N. Pak. I. Shin. V. Kim. Y. Magai, L. Kan, A. Ligai, and S. Tsoi.
2 – 9 October
One of the most significant events in the cultural life of the country has become the IV International Tashkent Modern Art Biennale titled “New: Illusions and Reality”. Among the organizers of this large-scale event were the “Forum for Uzbekistan Culture and Art” Foundation, the Academy of Arts of the republic, the National Television and Radio Company and the Tashkent City Khokimiyat [municipality]. During one week 160 artists from 33 countries demonstrated their finest works that reflected new ideas and new concepts. All exhibition venues in the capital city were engaged for the Biennale.
1-6 November
The Central Exhibition Hall of the Academy of Arts hosted the exhibition called “China Today” organized by the “Forum for Uzbekistan Culture and Art” Foundation, the Society for Human Rights Studies in the People’s Republic of China and the PRC Embassy in Uzbekistan. The exposition consisted of almost 400 works by Chinese masters of photography, which introduced the audience to the traditions, culture and arts of the PRC. Of a particular interest to the viewers were “Traditional Chinese Wedding” by Jang Chunkhai, “We Are All Twins” by Lyu Feng, “Tibetan Dance” by Kang Tayan and others.
1-20 November
The National Arts Centre was the venue for the exhibition titled “The Land and People of Uzbekistan” displaying the art of Ruzy Charyev, the People’s Artist of Uzbekistan. 60 works dating to different periods include paintings and graphic items reflecting stages of evolution and perfection of Charyev’s art. The pictures are amazing and show the master’s remarkable skill of discerning beauty in the mundane and raising it to category of eternal.
Acronyms:
- AAU – The Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan
- GPA – The Gallery of Pictorial Art
- THP – Tashkent House of Photography
- CEH – Central Exhibition Hall of the AAU Prepared by Luisa Salikhova
Raikha Amenzade