Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan will be represented in the first ever selling exhibition of Contemporary Art from Central Asia and the Caucasus entitled "At the Crossroads" in the United Kingdom, AzerTac state news agency reported.

According to artdaily.com, this pioneering exhibition, which encompasses art from the mountains of Caucasus to Kazakhstan`s steppe and the Chinese borders, will take place at Sotheby`s New Bond Street premises in London on March 4-12, 2013.

The exhibition will include around 50 contemporary artworks in various media by artists from across Central Asia and the Caucasus, including, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The exhibition will showcase non-conformist as well as socialist-realist art from the 1960s, right the way through to emerging contemporary practices.

Commenting on this pioneering initiative, Jo Vickery, Senior Director and Head of Sotheby`s Russian Art Department in London, said: "Countries throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia have experienced rapid growth in recent years and this is also true of the art scene there. New collectors, art institutions and galleries are emerging every day, and it is an exciting new geography for Sotheby`s to explore. We are therefore delighted to present this landmark selling exhibition, which encompasses the diverse artistic practices of the region that combine ancient historical roots with techniques at the forefront of contemporary art."

The aim of the exhibition is to highlight the diverse cultural expressions of the region, while exploring its shared Soviet past. The title `At the Crossroads` suggests the transitory stage in which the countries from the region find themselves, both socio-politically and in terms of artistic production. Having emerged from the communist USSR some 20 years ago, these countries are rapidly progressing towards Western ideals of capitalism, which is transposed on their pre-communist traditions and a shared - and lingering - socialist past.