NUR-SULTAN – Zhyndy Kobelek, an exhibition of emerging Kazakh artists, opened May 3 in Nur-Sultan and will run until May 31. The exhibition is organised by the Platforma Projectroom Gallery as a part of their art education programme.
Exhibition participant Aidana Kulakhmetova with her “Toxic” tapestry work. Photo credit: Platforma projectroom Instagram account.
The exhibition features the result of two months of training of emerging Kazakh artists by curators Aigul Ibrayeva and Aigerim Makhitzhan, who presented lectures on contemporary art, and Vitaly Simakov, who taught special theory in his master class.
“We did very serious work with the artists, tried to help them to move away from academic art and implement projects in a more modern media format. For many of them, there was an exceptionally realistic manner of presentation, and we wanted to show them other ways to translate ideas, to expand the boundaries of their artistic thinking. Thanks to a series of lectures and Simakov’s master class, we not only managed to achieve this goal but also were able to establish the Platforma Projectroom as an educational platform,” wrote Ibrayeva, an art historian and the exhibition curator, in a Platforma Projectroom Instagram post.
“Zhyndy Kobelek” work by Assylbek Murashbekov. Photo credit: Platforma projectroom Instagram account.
Exhibition participants are Abylai Murashbekov (installation), Aidana Kulakhmetova (tapestry), Altynai Alzhanova (video), Assylbek Mussabekov (video), Mansur Baimukhambetov (video), Zhanel Onlabayeva (video), Zhanel Taskynbayeva (painting), Anuar Bazekenov (installation, graphic art), Aiyna Kamalbekova (painting), Anel Bikenova (graphic art), Aigerim Mazhitkhan (performance), Bakhyt Bubikanova (video), Baurzhan Nurkeyev (photo), Dinara Nuger (painting), Inabat Kadyrsha (installation), Danila Lebedev (painting), Meirman Ilyasov (painting), Meruert Temirbekova (graphic art, painting), Nurzhan Zhanabatyrov (installation), Syrlybek Bekbotayev (painting, graphic art), Yerzhan Aitanov (installation) and Sophia Semyonova (painting).
The exhibition name, Zhyndy Kobelek, is a Kazakh term for a moth, signifying the end of a project (the fabric a moth feeds on) giving a start to the beginning of another. This name was chosen given Murashbekov’s art project with the same name that posed a question of whether there was a need to get rid of a moth that feeds on a national legacy (national blankets, for example) and what direction art should take. The exhibition organisers found this question to be key to understanding the exhibition.
The Zhyndy Kobelek exhibition can be found in the Platforma Projectroom Gallery at Moskva Business Centre.
