Leyla Akhundzada / Woman / series catalogue / 2005

Leyla Akhundzada

women. aspiration to perfection

2007

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Leyla Akhundzada

he author of the album – Leyla Akhundzada – is well known within the artistic circles. art critic and art historian, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts, chief curator of the International Exhibition of Conceptual Art “Aluminum” systematically held in Baku, and initiator of the participation of Azerbaijan at the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Venice and chief curator of the Azerbaijan pavilion there…

It is obvious that such rich experience of close contact with creativity in the context of History and in regime of real time as well has naturally led to that condition when a teacher, a critic, a curator finally became an author, independently participating in exhibitions.

It is also logical because the very nature of contemporary art, mainly determined by reason and intellect, provides wide possibilities to anybody who would prefer the innovated creative expression of his/her ideas to traditional verbal way.

The series of photographs by Leyla Akhundzada at first glance have little to do with each other.

Experiments with texture and form, when the accidentally formed folds of blanket create shadows or lights or reflections or various colour accents, evoke a wide range of feelings and associations.

Contours whether disappear or arise again, and soft cloths are closely interwoven with and penetrating each other as if they are the animated entities.

Women-peasants selling the gifts of Azerbaijan i.e. fruits and vegetables, people of a land living in one rhythm with nature have suddenly revealed their femineity in the context of the landscapes of the Italian Renaissance artists. They are Madonnas, mothers, wives. They are organically fittedinto the canons of

Beauty and Perfection, to which the mankind and the art created by it, have always been striving for ages.

Professional art criticism method of description and analysis of the monuments fostered an almost unconscious reaction in the author when reflex acts at any successful case of composition – let it be an image or a colour or a graphical decision or correlation of proportions – and the moment caught by camera is transforming into eternity.

The Renaissance portrait and the Dutch portrait of the 17th century, Romanticism and Impressionism, Geometric Abstractionism and Surrealism… The Past and the Present are constantly meeting each other intertwining into an intricate unity. It seems that all what belongs to History – that is artistic styles, genres, and directions - which once were just an object of study, are now tested in practice by the author. The perception of art objects being a co-sympathy is transforming into a co-creativity.

Straight and askew, hard and soft, light and shadow… Everything here is as in real life because art is a model of real life.

A model existing with a hope that earlier or later but feedback will emerge, and a virtual reality where everything can be corrected, will become a reality of our days, and the shadows will disappear, and the pain will die away, and the doors will open…

Dilara Vagabova, art critic

women. aspiration to perfection. 2007. mixed media, digital print

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Leyla Akhundzada

Akhundzada Leyla Curator, photographer.

Director of creative association “Wings of Time”.

Head of the department of art history in Azerbaijan State Academy of fine Arts.

Curator of more than 20 exhibitions in Azerbaijan, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Italy, commissioner and curator of Azerbaijani pavilion on 52nd Venice Biennial, 2007, Venice, Italy.

Participations in exhibitions: International Biennial of contemporary art “Aluminium”, 2003, 2005, 2007, Baku, Azerbaijan Exhibition “Caucasus”, State Center of contemporary art, 2005, Moscow, Russia Exhibition of photography of Azerbaijan, Museum of contemporary art, 2007, Moscow, Russia Exhibition of Azerbaijani art, 2007, Kassel, Germany Exhibition of photography “Photonic Moments”, 2007, Ljubljana, Slovenia

women. aspiration to perfection

Fa-design’08 Baku - 2008