The capital’s Expo Center is currently running a solo exhibition of works by Ata Akyev, one of the outstanding representatives of the Mary School. Bringing together close to 200 paintings and graphic works, it celebrates the 70th birthday of the master artist.
A series of self-portraits opens the exhibition offering visitors a unique window into the Ata Akyev’s career. In one of them, the artist bears a superficial likeness to Salvador Dali, suggesting that the renowned Surrealist painter had a marked influence on Akyev’s individual style.
Each of the self-portraits surprises with its originality.For instance, a portrait, depicting Ata Akyev with a many-eyed face, represents the diversity of techniques and styles he uses.
Another work, which features the artist between the two worlds, the past and the present, communicates an underlying philosophical message.One of the portraits in the series entitled Thoughts in the Head’ has a close association with a canonical portrait of Oguzkhan…
- Works by Ata Akyev reflect his outlook on life and are imbued with his personal magnetism, artist Mered Klychev, Ata Akyev’s former fellow student, shared his impressions.
Even as a young man, he tried to find his own painting style and follow his own path.And I must admit that he was able to see something extraordinary in ordinary things.
His works in that period showed foresight and originality with a touch of playfulness.He has managed to retain this distinctive identity.
After art school, Ata Akyev continued his education at the Lvov Institute of Printing Arts (Ukraine).Trips to foreign countries made a dramatic impact on the artist just starting out on his career.
His interest in other countries’ painting traditions is clearly seen in his works and their eclectic narrative content.A notable example is The Teapot’ with a modern coffee mug that seems grotesquely comic and out of place in the authentic composition.
The same can be said of the artist’s painting Chaikhana’ (Teahouse’).The national tradition of tea-drinking is a popular theme in painting, but the artist added a Western flavor to the traditional oriental character.
The painting shows a summer café from above with the chaikhana and the cars parked nearby seemingly floating along the golden lava-like streets in the boiling heat.
The Soldier’, yet another self-portrait, is full of local Oriental color.With red ochre as the dominant color and textured brush strokes, the painting looks like a carpet lovingly crafted by a skilled weaver.
It depicts a mountain village amid the spectacular scenery and a man, who is thinking of his home in a faraway land, and the thoughts gladden his heart…
With a close look at Ata Akyev’s abstract painting Towards the Light’, the viewer is struck by the fragility of a girl with her thin, long arms stretched upward towards the sun.
Probably, the girl is a metaphor for a young shoot that persistently pushes up through the soil towards the warmth of the sun.Spherical bodies surrounding the girl appear to be parts of the Universe that might have life.
Another colorful painting depicts young women fully immersed in a lively conversation and chatting about everything… The rounded and smooth flowing lines in the painting call up associations with an old letter.
This is how the artist bridges the past and the present.The women’s vibrant red dresses and patches of sunlight on their faces accentuate their youthful energy and positive emotions.
Ata Akyev’s paintings devoted to love are truly soul-stirring. In the painting entitled Love’, stylized figures of a man and a woman make two halves of the heart pulsating with feelings, wishes and love, and with the sea and sky blending together in it.
On display is another painting from the love series’ created by the artist, representing the beautiful and romantic love of cranes. The centerpiece of the painting is the two birds forming the shape of a heart with other cranes soaring high in the sky inspired by love.
Not only can artist Ata Akyev be a great romantic, but also a realist, when desired.The artist’s The Hunter’ features a face of an elderly man (yashuly), who has seen much and has experienced plenty throughout his life.
Despite this, every feature of his textured face and merry twinkles in his eyes irradiate genuine kindness.Ata Akyev, who painted the portrait of the hunter in the style of photorealism, would not be the artist we all know, if he had not enclosed it in a polygon.
One of the artist’s much-loved themes is Turkmen traditions. His painting Untie the Knot’ features a traditional wedding ritual of untying a tight knot on the groom’s belt by the bride. Ata Akyev portrayed the joyous wedding, time-honored and visually impressive rituals in bright hues…
No matter what style Ata Akyev adopts, he always discovers something fascinating both for himself and the viewer, using allegories and symbols to communicate his ideas to his contemporaries. Philosophical ideas, lyricism and his exquisite sense of humor are the hallmarks of stylistically diverse works by the extraordinary artist, who has a natural talent for bringing fantasies to life.