Black swirls on a blue or green-blue background. Exhibition Moldakul Narymbetov. 16+

The National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Erarta Museum of Modern Art present an exhibition of Moldakul Narymbetov, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the artist.

The name Moldakul Narymbetov (1948-2012) is included in the list of artists who created the modern art of Kazakhstan in the early nineties and zero and subsequently became iconic figures for Central Asia.

Among other masters, Moldakul Narymbetov always stood out for his striking personality and rebellious charisma, which allowed him, an accomplished painter, to master art forms new for the post-Soviet space: performances, installations, actions.

Narymbetov was the leader of the Transavangard association of artists, created in 1990 in the city of Shymkent, and then renamed the Kyzyl Tractor. The Kyzyl Tractors sought to adapt the avant-garde techniques of Western art to the traditional oriental culture. The basis of their artistic concepts is the appeal to the pre-Islamic past of Kazakhstan - the ancient ritual, shamanistic campaigns, as well as to Sufi rites. The key images are either a nomadic dervish, who is in search of truth and harmony, or an incandescent shaman, who is called to heal or combine the real and surreal, past, present and future with his meditative practices.

At the exhibition "Black Vortices on a Blue or Green-Blue Background" in the Erart Museum, the program works of Moldakul Narymbetov will be presented, reflecting the period of the mythological creation "Kyzyl Tractor", called the "trans-avant-garde shamanism." A visitor to the exposition will see the master’s works created by him from 1989 to 2009 - paintings, installation, sculpture, as well as archive videos with performances and actions of the artist.

The exhibition will be open on the 5th floor of the Exhibition Wing of the Erarta Museum from March 30 to June 6, 2018.