East of Nowhere, important exhibition of rare post Soviet Central Asian art in Italy, 2009

CONTEMPORARY CENTRAL ASIAN ART

Artworks from Central Asian artists hailing from nations that were formerly Soviet republics, including Kazahkstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, are on display in an inaugural event launching the new space of Fondazione 107, in Turin, Italy.

Way to Rome, by Said Atabekov, 2008. Lambda print on dibond, 80 x 120 cm. Tashkent district, Uzbekistan. Lives in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

The exhibition, titled East of Nowhere: Contemporary Art from post-Soviet Central Asia will feature over 100 works of 32 artists and groups from a region that has been a hotbed of cultural and political upheaval, and has become extraordinarily relevant to the fate of other nations, both economically and politically, within modern times. Regarding the choice to exhibit the Central Asian collection for Fondazione 107’s first event, Federico Piccari, president of Fondazione 107 and a practicing artist, explains:

“This exhibition is part of our cultural program, which is focused on creating a practical synergy between contemporary art and industry. With this inaugural event we begin our ongoing commitment to promote artistic initiatives in an open and actively evolving context, linking Turin’s dynamic cultural setting with other creative and multicultural realities. Our collection of Central Asian artwork is among the best available from this region and provides an exciting backdrop for our future role within the international art scene”.

Red Flag, by Oksana Shatalova, 2008. 5 lambda prints on dibond 180 x 155cm each. Rudny, Kazakhstan.

Curated by Enrico Mascelloni, Valeria Ibraeva, and Rosa Maria Falvo, in collaboration with Federico Piccari, the show depicts pieces by artists both young and old, and focuses on the transformational experiences of social struggle, addressing difficult topics including political boundaries, cultural identity, and personal reorientation within a collapsed society. The works are especially meaningful because they indicate Central Asia’s response to the turmoil in its recent history is to reinvent itself within the context of its ancient roots, regressing to pre-Soviet and even pre-Islamic cultures.  Co-curator Rosa Marie Falvo says:

“Here the ‘journey’ is not just a metaphor for the interchange of cultures, it becomes the very context of creativity itself. Images as distinct as Rahraw Omarzad’s shrouded Afghan female faces, whose stares declare the heroic silence of personal expression; Davaa Dorjderem’s maternal Mongolian maidens choreographed in tranquil swan-like poses; Georgy Tryakin-Bukharov’s improvised Kazakh ‘piglets’, outsized in life and association with a menacing bureaucratic ‘wolf’, not only speak of conventions and aspirations from within their country, society and culture, but go beyond to show the multifaceted conditions of ‘Central Asian’ contemporary life. Instead of artists thinking of something new to say, we see the juxtaposition of new opportunities to say what they have not been able to say until recently. This kind of soul searching is by definition fresh and defiant; less within a common philosophy, goal or experience and more like an integral part of an ancient Greek chorus commenting on the contemporary drama.”

The Third One, by Rahraw Omarzad, 2005. Video still. Afghanistan.

Artist List:

Afghanistan:
Khadim Ali
Rahraw Omarzad
Sheenkai Alam Stanikazai

Kazakhstan:
Said Atabekov
Georgy Tryakin-Bukharov
Natalya Dyu
Rustam Khalfin
Irina Maslikova
Erbossyn Meldibekov
Almagul Menlibayeva
Gulnur Mukazhanova
Moldakul Narymbetov
Ekaterina Nikonorova
Oksana Shatalova
Regina Shepetya
Aleksei Shindin
Saule Suleimenova
Diana Yun
Malik Zenger

Kyrgyzstan:
Talgat Karim Asyrankulov
Arthur Boljurov
Ulan Djaparov
Shailoo Dzheksembaev
Alimjan Jorobaev
Talant Ogobaev
Hudsovet Group
Z.A.D. Group

Mongolia:
Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu
Davaa Dorjderem
Dugarsham Tserennadmid

Tajikistan:
Gennady Ratushenko

Uzbekistan:
Vyacheslav Akhunov

The show runs from May 28 through September 25, 2009 in Turin, Italy. View full Press Release.

-contributed by Erin Wooters

Related Posts:

How art from half of Asia has been missed- interview Leeza Ahmady ACAW director- May 09

Rarely exhibited art and more firsts at Asian Contemporary Art Week New York 2009- Apr 09

Central Asian art joins mainstream market- Dec 08

Art fair Shanghai breaks new ground with Best of Discovery emerging artists- Financial Times, Artkrush- Sept 08

Related Links:

‘East of Nowhere’ Press Release

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for the latest contemporary art news

Advertisement

Singapore artist Yeo Chee Kiong’s installation wins ‘richest’ Asian art prize – Bloomberg

INSTALLATION ART PRIZE

Yeo Chee Kiong won the S$45,000 ($30,793) inaugural APB Foundation Signature Art Prize (images on website) for his installation “A Day Without a Tree,” originally shown last year at Singapore’s National Museum.

Yeo’s mixed-media work greeted visitors to the building, built in 1887, with what looked like a large puddle of white paint dripping from the walls as the columns of the four-story- high atrium melted. Yeo won the grand prize, the richest in Southeast Asia, sponsored by the Singapore Art Museum and Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd., maker of Tiger beer.

Yeo, born in 1970, said he decided to create a work based on the classical architecture because the museum was celebrating its 120th anniversary at the time of his installation.

“I tried to present something that you are not sure of,” he said in an interview at the Singapore Art Museum.

He declined to explain the work or its title.

“My position is not to tell you what it is. You have to figure that out for yourself,” he said.

Yeo was chosen from a shortlist of 12 artists from the region, including Malaysian Ahmad Fuad B. Osman, China’s Zheng Bo and India’s G.R. Iranna, who all won S$10,000 jurors’ choice awards. Mongolia’s Davaa Dorjderem won S$10,000 for the people’s choice, selected by online voters.

The award is part of a 15-year partnership between APB and the Singapore Art Museum signed a year ago. The APB Foundation has committed S$2.25 million in funding for the prize, which will be awarded every three years.

The 10 shortlisted works are on view at the Singapore Art Museum until Nov. 16.

See

• images and coverage by Bloomberg, Asia One Plush
• more on Asian art prizes
• latest reports from Singapore

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia