First Lady attends opening of artist Aida Mahmudova's exhibition
By Nigar Orujova
An exhibition titled "Internal peace" by talented young artist Aida Mahmudova opened at the Kichik Galart gallery in downtown Baku on September 20 in a ceremony attended by First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.
Mahmudova presented the exhibition first in Switzerland at the Barbarian Art Gallery in June.
Mahmudova exhibits impressive works directly inspired by the Azerbaijani history and related to the artist's personal experience and identity, illustrating her considerations in terms of memory and nostalgia.
Mahmudova's paintings are composed of muted hues. The depicted scenes are shrouded in a hazy mist, which combines real and reminiscent sites from old Baku and the Absheron Peninsula.
Opening the ceremony, People's Artist Farhad Khalilov praised the creative search of Aida Mahmudova.
"I am very pleased to be at this exhibition. I started to follow the works of Aida Mahmudova from her first exhibitions. The exhibition presented today shows Mahmudova's growth as an artist, her creative search," he said.
Khalilov regarded the fact that her works stem from her inside world as great success, as this is a feature of real proficiency.
He believes if an artist "can convey to the visitor the topics that come from the inside", then the artist's work is alive and immortal. Khalilov wished the talented artist new creative success.
Khalilov also praised First Lady, Heydar Aliyev Foundation President Mehriban Aliyeva's care for the creative youth including painters.
People`s Artist Fuad Salayev said the exhibition brings inner peace to people. According to him, the exhibition and the exhibited works prove that there is harmony in everything.
Salayev said that the old days of Baku and Absheron are represented at such a high level that one cannot but enjoy it, thanks to the modern creative vision of the young painter.
Mahmudova's artwork delves into the emotive facets of 'longing' -- specifically, the longing for the memory of a place, rather than for the place itself. Simultaneously, the artist meditates on how memory is tied to the debris of the past.
Her paintings and accumulations present history as a collection of mements which appear fragmented and partial, and are accessible only through the mediation of personal perceptions and emotional responses.
By focusing on an individual perspective within a larger, historical narration, the compositions redress how history is perceived and memory evolves.
The situations Aida depicts are retrieved scenes, eyewitness of places and situations, which have undergone a drastic change. Through her work the artist invites the viewers to participate in the experience of remembering.
The "Internal peace" exhibition will be open for visitors until October 20.
31 year-old Mahmudova graduated Fine Art from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. She works with different media, including painting, photography and installation.
Mahmudova is also the organizer and founder of Yarat Contemporary Art Space in Baku, a non-governmental organization which aims to support and develop modern Azerbaijani art nationally and abroad.
Mahmudova's artwork has been shown at major exhibitions in Europe, in venues such as the Maxxi museum in Rome, Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow and Philips de Pury & Company in London.