A well-known Kazakh painter, one of the founders of “icon painting”
A. Sydykhanov – a well-known Kazakh painter, one of the founders of the so-called “icon painting”, a symbolic trend in the fine arts of Kazakhstan at the end of the twentieth century beginning of the 21st century. The exposition will include about 100 paintings and graphics from the GMI collection. A. Kasteev and private collections reflecting the main stages of the work of an outstanding master. By the opening of the exhibition a catalog was published.
Abdrashit Sydyhanov is a cult figure of Kazakh fine arts. His creative career began in the mid-sixties, when, after graduating from the Almaty Art School, he came to work as an artist at Kazakhfilm. He joins a group of Kazakh artists close to him in spirit, who were called “sixties”. Artists, the sixties – this is a special direction in the fine arts of Kazakhstan, formed in the late 60s of the 20th century. They did not want to follow the academic and ideological canon and sought to create national principles of the art school. This group includes Salikhitdin Aytbaev, Shaimardan Sariev, Abdrashit Sydyhanov, Tokbolat Togyzbayev, Bakhtiyar Tabiev, Zhanatay Shardenov, Tulegen Dosmagambetov, Erkin Mergenov and others.
In addition to working in film, Abdrashit is fond of easel painting. In the spirit of the sixties Sydyhanov created in the early 70’s his paintings “Tobacco Collection” (1971) and “Ninth Microdistrict” (1972), which are now on display in the permanent exhibition of the Museum. A. Kasteev, as a vivid example of this direction. These works are full of optimism, in large forms Gauguin’s influence is felt.
Later, the artist changes his style of work. He is carried away by Kazakh generic signs – tanba. Studying these generic signs, he came to the conclusion that even the simplest, at first glance, sign carries a very important historical and culturological information. Kazakh signs of the Tanba became the basis of his transition to iconic painting. He begins to experiment with them, and also creates works in mixed technology, using cereal grains, legumes, eggshells and other materials to create the products.