Galina Merzlikina, President of the Center for International, Cultural and Business Cooperation “Culture for Life”, organizer and curator of the exhibition of paintings by academician Viktor Apukhtin “That's how I see it”.
The interview was posted on the Kultura.uz portal, interviewed by Boris Babaev (In Russian language).
- Galina, this was your first time in Uzbekistan, what was your impression?
I came to Uzbekistan for the first time and I am very glad about it. The country and people made a vivid impression. The first thing you feel in Tashkent is a lot of warmth, which is so lacking in Moscow. Going on the trip, I did not expect to see the city so modern, because Tashkent is more than 2200 years old.
My trip lasted only 4 days, 2 of which were almost entirely working days, but despite everything, I managed to see a lot and met many cultural figures of Uzbekistan.
- What did you manage to see in such a short time?
Victor Apukhtin’s exhibition was presented in the exhibition hall of the Ural Tansykbaev House Museum in Tashkent, which became my first discovery. He was one of the most famous artists of the former Union, who lived and worked in Uzbekistan in the middle of the last century. He created hundreds of paintings with scenes from the life of the Uzbek people and beautiful landscapes glorifying the beauty of his native land. In Russia, the works of Ural Tansykbaev can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery and the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow. I love small museums, they have a special flavor. Everything in this house-museum has been preserved as it was from the artist’s lifetime. There are many wonderful paintings on the walls of the studio, and the unfinished work “Charvak in 1973” still stands on his easel.
We also managed to visit the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. It is closed for renovation, but thanks to the head of the department of this museum, Jahongir Temirkhodjaev, we were able to see some exhibits, including Buddha heads from the Fergana region, dating back to the 7th century, and statues from the Romanov Palace in Tashkent, built according to the design of architects V.S. Geintzelman and A . L. Benois for Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich. This palace is perfectly preserved, I was able to see it, but I was not able to go inside. And this is a great reason to return to Tashkent again.
Back at the museum, Jahongir Pulatovich gave an excellent tour of the Tashkent Modernism.Index exhibition.
- You came to the opening of the exhibition of Viktor Apukhtin and it became a memorable event for everyone who was there. How different is it from the exhibitions currently taking place in Moscow?
The exhibition “That's how I see it” took a long time to prepare, but it came together very quickly. Viktor Olegovich has hundreds of works and most are about love, we selected the corresponding concepts for the exhibition, the result was an allegory of thoughts about Uzbekistan, people, life, beauty and love. The exposition of the exhibition greeted guests in the flowering garden of the museum and accompanied them to the exhibition hall, where the graphic and painting works of Viktor Apukhtin were located, accompanied by national music. The opening was attended by many guests, including famous artists of Uzbekistan. They talked a lot, remembered their parents and the continuity of generations, talked about art and the role of the artist. Very organically, we returned from Victor Apukhtin’s “Garden of Eden” from the museum’s garden, where all the guests were treated to the most delicious, in my opinion, pilaf and tea. This is perhaps what distinguishes it from the opening of exhibitions in Moscow. Already during the meal they continued to talk about art and plans for the future.
- Why, out of all the artists of Uzbekistan, did you choose the opportunity to work with Viktor Apukhtin?
A year ago, I was introduced to the work of Viktor Olegovich by his student, my friend Elena Peshkova, with whom we are working on projects together at the Konstantin Korovin Foundation for Assistance to the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. In December, my art bureau “Gala Art Bureau” was engaged in selecting works and creating a collection of paintings commissioned by one of the large architectural studios in Russia. 12 works were selected for the collection, among which 2 are paintings and graphics by Viktor Apukhtin.
Apukhtin has “complex art”, which has a specific, special language of convention; it cultivates taste, develops creative thinking, and teaches one to understand the essence of art.
- How do you see the cultural dialogue between our countries and its prospects?
Our countries are connected by a long joint history, cultural interaction and friendship. Representatives of different nationalities and nationalities have lived on the territory of Russia, as well as Uzbekistan, for a long time.
Our cultures actively interact, and the Russian language in Uzbekistan is a means of interethnic communication. The Center for International, Cultural and Business Cooperation “Culture for Life” has been involved in interethnic cultural projects for more than 10 years. After all, this is a universal language of communication; it is culture that preserves and passes on to the next generations the most important, basic values and guidelines. It allows you to connect the past, present and future, preserve the identity and uniqueness of each nation and helps people navigate the rapidly changing global world.
Now, by creating joint cultural projects, we are again speaking the same language - the language of culture and art, we are again living a joint history.
The exhibition and philosophical project of artist Viktor Apukhtin “That's how I see it” shows how a bridge from the heart of Uzbekistan (Tashkent and Samarkand) goes to the heart of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg). In Russia, we have planned a number of other events with Viktor Olegovich Apukhtin, which will undoubtedly contribute to our cultural dialogue.
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