On Borders and Other Inventions
14 October - 12 November 2017
Aspan Gallery presents a new show On Borders and Other Inventions with Kazakhstani Said Atabekov and Malian Abdoulaye Konaté. Despite the obvious cultural and geographical differences, both artists explore the issues of borders, identity, and interaction of different cultures, religions and ideologies and work with traditional for their respecitve regions materials. This would be the first show of Aspan Gallery's series of exhibitions-dialogues between a Central Asian and another non-Western contemporary artist.
‘NotNotNot’ – Exhibition of Central Asian Artists
24 September – 15 October 2017
A group show of Central Asian contemporary artists NotNotNot opened at Asanbay Centre in Bishkek. Three main complaints most commonly expressed by artists are reflected in the exhibition’s title: "Not as I wanted", "Not according to the plan", "Not the right size". The show, curated by Ulan Japarov, brought together the works from Central Asian artists of different generations. Yelena and Viktor Vorobyev and Said Atabekov presented their new pieces, whereas the younger generation of Kazakhstani art scene was represented by Bakhyt Bubikanova.
ART PROSPECT – BISHKEK: GREEN ZONES – NEW BREATH
22 - 24 September 2017
International Public Art Festival Art Prospect founded by a non-profit organization CEC ArtsLink will take place in Bishkek Botanical Garden in the end of September. The festival will feature artists and collectives from Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine and the USA. Artists and organizers propose to re-imagine and invigorate the Botanical Garden, using art, design and architecture tools, helping to organize a place for informal meetings of citizens of all ages and groups. This year’s festival edition is curated by a Bishkek-based artist duo of Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev.
Almagul Menlibayeva and Said Atabekov in 'Reconciliation. Memory of the steppes'
2 - 16 September 2017
The project Reconciliation is an attempt to rethink the events of the civil war in Russia and abroad in a series of exhibition projects. The exhibition unites works by artists from Russia and Kazakhstan, and refers to matters of historical and collective memory, fancy trajectories of its development and transformations. Trying to locate and reconstruct the unspoken history of the civil war in Kazakhstan, the artists use different ways of experiencing human history and war. The project is a part of ArtBat Fest 8 and is on display at Almaty Art Centre..
Yerbossyn Meldibekov in “A Romance with Revolution”
18 August – 12 November 2017
An international group exhibition A Romance with Revolution opened at ACC Galerie in Weimar and at Pushkinskaya-10, Saint-Petersburg independent cultural center. 100 years after “The Red October” the show raises the topic of fascination for riot, revolution and revolt as well as for the heritage and heirs, lessons and consequences from epochmaking changes. A Romance with Revolution presents works by 19 artists from 11 countries including Yerbossyn Meldibekov.
Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev in a Group Show "A Global Table"
23 September 2017 - 7 January 2018
Bishkek-based artist duo of Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev will take part in a group show A Global Table which will run in the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. This exhibition featuring old and new art will showcase the food still lifes of the Golden Age offering an alternative reading of these works as documents from the history of the Netherlands’ colonial and trade relations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The show will be completed by the works of contemporary artists interested in world trade and the effects of colonialism. A Global Table will be on display through 7 January 2018.
"The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism?"
A new book by one of Pakistan’s most gifted political commentators Ahmed Rashid The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism? is being launched. The study analyses the political and social landscape of the Central Asian Respublics that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. On the cover Yelena and Victor Vorobyevs' installation One of the Ways of Leveling of the Horizon.
Suns and Neons above Kazakhstan
7 June – 29 October 2017
A group show of Kazakhstani contemporary artists Suns and Neons above Kazakhstan opens in YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku. The exhibition brings together seminal works of the 1990s and the early 2000s from 16 Kazakhstani artists including Yerbossyn Meldibekov, Almagul Menlibayeva, Yelena and Viktor Vorobyev, Rustam Khalfin and Said Atabekov. The show aims to deconstruct a romanticized image of Kazakhstan as a vast and largely unpopulated geography that for decades played upon the collective imagination. Suns and Neons above Kazakhstan will run through 29 October 2017.
www.yarat.az/en/discover/exhibitions/overview/suns-and-neons-above-kazakhstan-group-exhibition
VIVA ARTE VIVA. The 57th Venice Biennale has opened
13 May – 26 November 2017
The 57th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia has officially started. This year’s edition titled Viva Arte Viva is curated by Christine Macel. Works of the leading contemporary artists are traditionally presented at the two venues – Biennale Gardens (Giardini) and Arsenale. National pavilions of 80 different countries are also open to the public. Yelena and Viktor Vorobyev represented by Aspan Gallery display their installation The Artist is Asleep (1996) at the Biennale’s main pavilion at Giardini. The artist duo’s programmatic work can be seen through 26 November.
Aspan Gallery Group Show 'Painting Resistance'
20 April - 4 June 2017
Aspan Gallery presents its first group show Painting Resistance in Almaty. The exhibition showcases the works by three Central Asian contemporary artists - Yelena Vorobyeva, Bakhyt Bubikanova and Valery Ruppel. All of them share a common interest in the themes of everyday life.
The group show Painting Resistance is on display at Villa Boutiques & Restaurants's EXPO Hall (140A Al-Farabi) through 4 June 2017.