Kanat Ibragimov Kenneth Abraham
Kanat Ibragimov, one of the country's first conceptual artists, made his name in Moscow for nailing the carcass of a chicken to the door of the gallery that had invited him to exhibit, spattering blood onto the floor around.
After his chicken work, Ibragimov's next move, at the 1997 Moscow Art Fair, was to slaughter a sheep in the gallery, and then drink its blood, an act which led to a fight with vegetarian German artists exhibiting, and a petition to have him removed from the fair. He claimed, rather disingenuously, that he was merely following his Kazakh tradition of celebrating an event by slaughtering a sheep and accused his detractors of being cultural imperialists.
But last year, he returned to art, staging a series of brazenly political events. In February, he cut the head off a fish in Almaty's Central Square, while reciting the Russian proverb,"A fish rots from its head down". In July, he circumcised himself to celebrate the president's birthday. More recently, he launched a "Virtual Party" with no beliefs or causes.
Sara Raza:
"Central Asian artists really found their feet following their debut in the Venice Bienniale in 2005," Raza argues, "and we really do hope to work with some of the best talent in the region with a mix of group and solo shows. "
She likes Ibragimov, describing him as a "spin doctor-stroke-artist who can bring a real catalyst of change to the region through the language of art and culture."
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/eyes-on-kazakhstans-art#page3#ixzz2mL7S2Be2
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ART EXPERIENCE
International Festival of Experimental Arts and Performance, St-Petersburg, Russia, 1996, “Kazakh Graffiti”
International Art Fair, Moscow, Russia, 1997, “New Kazakh Art” Ready Made and Art Action.
Art Gallery on Graben St., Vienna, Austria, 1995, “Alte und Neue Kazakhische Kunst”, Oil and Acrylic Paintings.
Koraz Bird / Guelman Gallery/ Moscow / January 1997
NEUE KASACHISCHEN KUNST in Art Moscow 1997
“Asia Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” Exhibition and Performance, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 1998.
Art Forum, Berlin, Germany, 1998, "Asiatic Prisoner" performance and exhibition
Asiatopia International Art Festival, Bangkok, Thailand, 2000, “Antiterrorism” Action
Nippon International Performance Art Festival, Tokyo, Nagano and Nagoya, Japan, 2001.
Marat Gelman Gallery, Moscow, Russia, 2001, “Go to East” performance
Venezia Biennale, Italy, 2005, Archive of Performance
Tengri Umai Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2002, Solo exhibition
Transit International Symposium, Osh, Kyrgyzstan, 2006
Kasteev National Museum of Arts, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2009, “Aigolek: Requiem for a Dream” Exhibition
Eurasian Meda Forum, Astana, 2010, “Kop soz, bok soz” Radical Action
“The Fish Rots from Head” Radical Action, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2010
Kazakh Dream Exhibition, Astana, 2011
Art Vilnius Festival, Lithuania, 2011
Klaipeda Crossing Exhibition, Lithuania, 2012
“Face of the Bride” Exhibition, Perm, Russia, 2012
Mzkheta Crossings Exhibition, Georgia, 2013
Nomad Art Camp, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 2013
Solo Exhibition, Berkley CA, USA 2015
Solo Exhibition, Artitud Gallery, San Francisco CA, USA 2019
GIFT OF MARAT. Modern art from the Gelman collection, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia, 2020