(By Dr Shahid Qureshi – Chief Editor) :-
Andakulova Gallery has launched a comprehensive monograph on Bakhodir Jalal • Published by Skira it contains a complete history of his extensive career. Edited by Rosa Maria Falvo, an expert on Central Asian art it features an essay by historian Nigora Akhmedova about Jalal’s life story and the impact of his work Under the patronage of the Consulate General of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Dubai, U.A.E. November 2018, Dubai, UAE: Dubai-based Andakulova Gallery is pleased to announce the release of a monograph publication charting the career of celebrated Uzbek artist Bakhodir Jalal.
A retrospective view spanning four decades, this book is a collaboration between Andakulova Gallery in Dubai and Skira Publishing House in Milan and is the first of its kind to feature the life and practice of Bakhodir Jalal (b.1948, Tashkent).
The publication, entitled “BAKHODIR JALAL: A Line To Eternity”, focuses on the artist’s rich and varied paintings which demonstrate his masterful work in abstraction and colour as well portraiture, still life and figurative compositions based in spiritual and folkloric traditions. The book also includes a chapter on his drawings and works on paper, making it the most comprehensive publication available about this important artist who contributed extensively to the post-Soviet dialogue and the making of a new cultural landscape for Central Asia. Citing influences in Uzbek architecture, mosaics and nature, as well as more formalist elements of Western modernism, Jalal’s art practice is firmly rooted in his national heritage.
His career also plays out against a backdrop of enormous cultural and historical changes. Insightful commentary and contextual analysis is provided throughout the book by Uzbek art historian Nigora Akhmedova – Academician of the Fine Art Academy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who has known Jalal for decades. Skira BAKHODIR JALAL A Line to Eternity “I try to keep on the path of my own creations, my own line to eternity… In my work I try to preserve and celebrate the most important aesthetic components that have been distilled through the minds and hearts of prominent figures across history. That’s why I love Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and Vivaldi.
They are examples of enduring philosophies and beautiful, insightful, and varied traditions… People come [here] in order to relish the harmony of cultural exchange; to satisfy some internal appetite for peace and collaboration. I’m a believer in the spiritual synchronization which is in every human being.” Bakhodir Jalal BAKHODIR JALAL, Edited by Rosa Maria Falvo, an independent Italian-Australian writer, editor and curator who is dedicated to presenting the Central Asian art scene, this publication also features her in-depth conversation with Jalal in his studio in Tashkent which covers many fascinating aspects of Jalal’s artistic trajectory and multifaceted interests in science, politics, philosophy, classical art and analysis of form.
This publication offers a summary of Jalal’s artworks alongside an important narrative on the progression of Uzbekistan’s key role within the new Central Asia. Natalya Andakulova, the founder and director of Andakulova Gallery says: “We are very proud to be able to present this ground-breaking publication. I have spent many years working to raise the profile of artists from Central Asia through the gallery and other ventures, so to have played a part in this special project means a lot to me personally and professionally.
About Bakhodir Jalal Born in 1948 in Tashkent, Bakhodir Jalal’s career spans over 40 years and covers a remarkable period in history of his native Uzbekistan. He lived and worked through the Cold War, witnessed the end of the Soviet era and his country gain sovereignty in 1991.
His formative years as an artist were spent in Leningrad, which is now St. Petersburg when Soviet art was still trapped within the communist ideology. He graduated in 1974 with Honors from the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting of the Repine Institute of Fine Arts, Sculpture and Architecture in St. Petersburg. Only ten years after his graduation he received the USSR State Prize for art (1984) and then, in 1991, the Uzbekistan State Prize for the reinvigoration of the mural genre. He is now one of the most influential artists in Uzbekistan, producing works that merge various techniques with references to this country’s ancient traditions and heritage as well as the socio-political climate.
Bakhodir is one of Uzbekistan’s most important artists and he deserves international recognition.” In the publication, Nigora Akhmedova writes: “Bakhodir Jalal’s art practice can be imagined as a continuous dialogue between thinkers and artists from both the East and the West, which has evolved into a prerequisite for his own creativity and not merely as a matter of “referencing” or developing styles inherited from the past.” Bakhodir Jalal, A Line To Eternity book launch takes place on November 7, 2018 at 7 p.m in Andakulova Gallery, Dubai, UAE. The book launch in his hometown takes place on November 13, 2018 in NBU Art Gallery, Tashkent, Uzbekistan coinciding his 70th official celebration. •
For more information contact +971 4 385 9897 or info@andakulova.com
Andakulova Gallery Andakulova Gallery, Dubai, is a contemporary art gallery whose objective is to promote Central Asia’s contemporary visual arts. It serves as a platform to exhibit and support emerging to midmarket contemporary artists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (or the ‘Stans’) across a variety of media.
Founded by Natalya Andakulova, its higher goal is to cultivate a dialogue between Central Asia and the Middle East by re-introducing the art of the ‘Stans’ to the artistic hub of Dubai. It wants to build relationships between artists, writers, specialists and collectors.
