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In collaboration with the Kasteev State Museum of Kazakhstan, Christie’s is delighted to be hosting a ground breaking exhibition of Kazakh and Russian art in London this September. The exhibition will be the first of its kind held in the UK, unveiling eighty years of Kazakh art from the State Museum and from a private Kazakh collection. Alexis de Tiesenhausen and Meruyert Kaliyeva talk to Eva-Maria Dimitriadis about this exciting new project.

How did the idea for this exhibition come about?
Alexis de Tiesenhausen: My wife is from Kazakhstan, and in the past few years I have been fortunate enough to visit the Kasteev Museum on several occasions. On my first visit I was very excited about the quality of the Russian art from the Museum’s collection and the discovered of Kazakh art, but it was totally unknown to me and has received very little coverage outside Kazakhstan’s borders.

Meruyert Kaliyeva: So when we heard that the Museum was closing for renovation later this year, we thought it would be an amazing opportunity to bring the masterpieces from the Museum’s permanent display to London. We approached the institution about putting on the first major show of Kazakh art in the UK and they fully embraced the concept. Moreover, we were very lucky that such respectable companies as Astana-Group, Oracle Capital and Air Astana made the exhibition possible by generously supporting the project.

Is this the first time that such works have been exhibited outside in the United Kingdom?
AT: Yes it is the first time ever on such a big scale. Certain works from the collection were acquired directly from the artists to form part of the permanent display. Many pieces have never left the museum before.

Do you think this exposure will lead to a greater understanding of Kazakh culture?
MK: Kazakhstan was a land where historically many cultures interacted. It is a very large country spanning from the Chinese border to the Caspian Sea, located on main trade routes of the Silk Road. The nomadic lifestyle of its inhabitants and the melting pot of cultures in the region are strongly manifested in the art, which combines influences from the Russian School, Western painting, Islamic art and also traditional applied arts. I think this exhibition will make the history and cultural relevance of Kazakhstan a lot clearer to many people.

The museum takes its name from the artist Abilkhan Kasteev. Will we be seeing some of his works in the exhibition? Why is he so important?
AT: Abilkhan Kasteev was essentially the first professional Kazakh painter. Painting in Kazakhstan is a relatively recent phenomenon – about 80 years old. Kasteev became the first Kazakh painter in the 1930s. Before that, there was virtually no painting. He emerged from a very humble nomadic background and decided to become a painter, leaving behind a heritage of about two thousand paintings and watercolours when he died. His oeuvre forms a visual record of 20th Century Kazakhstan.

What are the key themes or motifs that one must understand in order to become more familiar with Kazakh art?
MK: Before the 1930s Kazakhstan produced only applied arts in the form of ceramics, carpets and jewellery. Therefore there were no painting references or artistic traditions to build upon. Kasteev was initiated into painting under the guidance of Russian artist Khludov, and subsequently many Kazakh artists were sent to Leningrad or Moscow to study. The resulting visual identity of Kazakh art juxtaposes local applied arts with foreign influences. And the more time that passes, the more one can detect traces of industrialisation and modernisation creeping into the paintings.

AT: It is also interesting to note that paintings appeared at around the same time as nomadic life settled down and sedentary life became more common. This work by Kanafiya Telzhanov demonstrates this theme that Meruyert is talking about. It is a very subtle reference to the industrialisation process that took place in the 1920s-1930s in Kazakhstan. The free-spirited natives riding in the vast open field juxtaposed with the bridge and locomotives in the background.

With the arrival of Soviet power to Russia, many Russian painters migrated to Kazakhstan. How did this impact the artistic community of Kazakhstan?
MK: There are a number of Russian artists who became teachers; their students in Kazakhstan went on to become very famous. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin taught Sergei Kalmikov, whose work we see here. Pavel Filonov taught Pavel Zaltsman. And Vladimir Sterligov taught Rustam Khalfin, who became one of the most liberal artists of them all. Kazakh art is usually much more avant garde than Russian art from the same period. Kazakh artists drew upon Russian art for their history and Realist techniques, but they slowly but surely created their own national school, taking more risks and incorporating more radical ideas.

The art on display will span the entire 20th century. What evolution can be identified in the style and subject matter over the last 80 years?
MK: In the beginning of the 20th century the painting was much more in line with the Russian school of Realist painting. It was not until the 1960s where the influence of applied arts became more visible. Artists incorporated motifs from carpets, decorations and ornaments. Art became flatter and more abstract as they sought their own visual identity. In addition to this change in style, we also notice a change in the subjects depicted. As previously mentioned, the focal point of many artworks shifts from simple landscape and genre painting, to more modernised scenery.

What is the future of Kazakh art?
MK: In the 1950s and 1960s Almaty was in a unique situation – artists in Kazakhstan could be more expressive and liberal than those in Russia – and the art they produced rapidly became too avante garde for Moscow as they grappled with new forms of expression. There are a few contemporary artists featured in the exhibition and I think it is clear that the artists of Kazakhstan are continuing to evolve and to seek out their own national artistic identity.

Some of the works are on loan from a private collection. How do they fit in with the museum pieces?
AT: These pieces were kindly leant to us by Nurlan Smagulov, a very important collector in this field. We were very excited to meet a collector who understood immediately what we were trying to do with this exhibition. Smagulov is a genuine art lover who has been collecting for the last 20 years. He has some excellent 1960s and 1970s prints and a selection of paintings and sculptures which are paralleled in quality to those of the Kasteev Museum collection. We are very grateful for his generosity in loaning us twenty-five pieces from his private collection. They make a beautiful compliment to the pieces we have chosen and we are delighted to be able to display them as part of this pioneering exhibition.

Treasures of Kazakhstan at Christie’s
1-8 September 2010
Christie's, 8 King Street, St. James's, London

Christie's invites you to our King Street galleries to view this groundbreaking exhibition. Seventy-five extraordinary works, including important paintings from the museum’s permanent collection, complimented by works from a private collection, will be exhibited for the first time outside of Kazakhstan.

Inquiries:
Meruyert Kaliyeva
mkaliyeva@christies.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7389 2249