Which artists from Kazakhstan are featured in international museums and collections
The Committee of Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan identified Kazakhstani artists whose works are present in foreign museums and private collections, following an official inquiry by a Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
The works of Kazakhstani artists are part of global art museum collections.
“Works by artists such as Bakhyt Bapishev, Askar Yesdauletov, Kamil Mullashev, Sholpan and Birzhan Tulesh, Yevgeny Fridlin, Eduard Kazaryan, Andrey Noda, Marat Bekeyev, Alpysbay Kazgulov, Batukhan Baymen, Bakytnur Burdesbekov, Rafael Slekenov, Leila Makhat, Askar Yesenbayev, and Jamila Taken are held in the collections of foreign museums and private collectors. For instance, works by Alpysbay Kazgulov are in the collections of the Belarusian State Museum and in the private collections of well-known personalities such as Patricia Kaas and Gerard Depardieu,” the Committee of Culture stated in response to the official request.
They also added that the works of Batukhan Baymen are included in private collections in the Kyrgyz State Museum of Fine Arts named after G. Aitiev, the National Museum of Modern Art in New Delhi, and in Türkiye.
“The creative works of Leila Makhat are in the Museum of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture of Türkiye, the historical museum of the Ulm municipality (Germany), the State Museum of Fine Arts of Moldova, as well as in the “SARAY” gallery in Berlin, “Five-Art” in Vienna, the Kisho Kurokawa collection, Guangzhou, and in contemporary art centers in China, the USA, Türkiye, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Her works are also in private collections in Belgium, India, Austria, Japan, the Czech Republic, and other countries. The works of Bakytnur Burdesbekov are held in private galleries and collections in the USA, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Germany, and Italy,” explained the Committee of Culture.
According to them, the art of Kazakhstani masters is most represented in the museums of the Russian Federation, such as the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Museum of Oriental Art, and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. These museum collections include works by outstanding Kazakhstani artists such as Abylkhan Kasteev, Moldakhmet Kenbayev, Kamil Mullashev, Aubakir Ismailov, Abram Cherkassky, Sabur Mambeyev, Kamil Shayakhmetov, and others.
The Committee of Culture noted that the main peak of the international exposure of Kazakhstani artists’ works occurred in the 2000s. Yerbolat Tolepbai became the first Kazakhstani artist to organize a solo exhibition at the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow) in 1999. In 2001, he received the highest award “EUROUNION” (Brussels) for outstanding achievements in painting, and in 2002, he was awarded the Salvador Dalí Prize by the International Alliance (Madrid-Prague). From 2003 to 2006, he held three exhibitions in Paris.
In addition, Kazakhstani culture is represented at the world’s largest exhibitions. For example, in the spring of 2024, the prestigious international art exhibition “Venice Biennale” took place in Italy, where works by one of the pioneers of futuristic art in Kazakhstan, Kamil Mullashev, a new work by one of the key painters in local art history, Yerbolat Tolepbai, innovative installations by architect Saken Narynov, Sergey Maslov, as well as young artists from the group The2wo, including Elena Pozdnyakova, Eldar Tagi, and Anwar Musrepov, were presented.
The Committee of Culture clarified that a significant event for the State Museum of Arts named after Abylkhan Kasteev was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with NAMOC - the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.
“Promoting Kazakhstani heritage abroad and implementing various international projects in the global cultural space is one of the priority activities of the Abylkhan Kasteev State Museum of Arts. This is expressed both in the organization of traveling exhibitions abroad from the museum’s collections and in hosting international exhibitions at the museum, allowing Kazakhstani audiences to become acquainted with world art without leaving the country," emphasized the Committee of Culture.
