Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

A special exhibition of Azerbaijani contemporary art pieces and a gala night were held at the world's leading auction house, London-based Christie's, on Sunday.

Supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the exhibition was organized by YARAT! Contemporary Art Space in cooperation with Christie's.

The event was attended by the Foundation Vice President Leyla Aliyeva, as well as parliament members, public and culture figures from Azerbaijan and the UK, as well as visitors from a number of countries.

In his opening remarks, chairman of Christie's UK, Viscount David Linley, thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for its assistance in organizing the exhibition and stressed the role of the Foundation President, Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and its Vice President Leyla Aliyeva in promoting Azerbaijani art and culture.

Leyla Aliyeva in her speech expressed hope the exhibition would contribute to promoting Azerbaijani culture in the UK.

According to Aliyeva, YARAT! Contemporary Art Space's exhibitions have already been held in London, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow. Another exhibition is expected to be held in Rome.

The London exhibition includes video materials, artwork, sculpture and photography and is supposed to make a contribution to a more profound study of Azerbaijani art.

The founder of YARAT! Aida Mahmudova in her remarks regarding YARAT!, a non-commercial, private organization dedicated to the promotion and nurturing of Azerbaijani contemporary art locally and worldwide, said: "A key objective of YARAT! is to form dialogue and exchanges with non-commercial art foundations both in Azerbaijan and abroad. It also aims to provide educational initiatives as well as international art awards."

The event at Christie's featured a performance by famous Azerbaijani violinist Nazrin Rashidova, as well as a video clip on Azerbaijani art and contemporary artists including Aida Mahmudova, Ramal Kazimov, Faiq Akhmed, Ali Hasanov, Farid Rasulov, Orkhan Huseynov, and Niyazi Najafov.

In September 2012, Christie's in cooperation with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and YARAT! Contemporary Art Space staged its first exhibition in Azerbaijan. The exhibition featured a diverse range of art and items that have been selected to represent the best of the fall sales held by Christie's in London, New York and Dubai.

Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's conducted auctions since 18th century and today it has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world, where 450 sales take place annually.