Aida Mahmudova's solo exhibition opens in Dubai

Dubai, November 15, AZERTAC The founder and artistic director of the YARAT Contemporary Art Space, talented painter Aida Mahmudova has opened her first solo exhibition in Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai. Titled "Desert as it is", the exhibition aroused great interest of art lovers, as well as representatives of the general public visiting the exhibition. The exhibition features seventeen new paintings. Talking with the event participants, Aida Mahmudova highlighted the activities of the YARAT Contemporary Art Space. She said YARAT is engaged in the study of contemporary art and the public promotion of Azerbaijan's national culture. Director of the Cuadro Gallery Roberto Lopardo hailed Aida Mahmudova`s works. Azerbaijani ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Dashgin Shikarov, Azerbaijani Consul General in Dubai Parviz Ismayilzade, and representatives of diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan also attended the opening of the exhibition. Mahmudova animates the surface of the canvas drawing attention to both the process of painting and the material qualities of the paint itself. Mahmudova plays with depth, perspective and scale, creating large-scale scenes that draw in the viewer. A structure of bold planes of color is combined with layers of textured brushstrokes. The painted surface is further animated and enlivened with the addition of materials such as polyurethane foam over which an impasto application of paint is applied to build volume. In series of paintings, Mahmudova explores the idea of impermanence. The works provide glimpses of Azerbaijan's natural surroundings, urban environment and architecture—a backdrop that is undergoing constant and rapid change. A central component of Mahmudova's work is her exploration of memory, its links to identity, and how they both can be continually altered and re-remembered over time. Born in 1982, Aida Mahmudova lives and works in Baku. Mahmudova has exhibited widely, and is showing seascapes at the 56th Venice Biennale as part of the VITA VITALE group exhibition curated by Artwise. Her sculptural installations and paintings have been shown at exhibitions internationally including Here Today at the Old Sorting Office in London; Love Me, Love Me Not at the 55th Venice Biennale; Fly To Baku, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Rome; and Merging Bridges at the Museum of Modern Art, Baku, Azerbaijan. Her works are held in private collections globally and her sculpture Recycled is on public display on Baku Boulevard. The "Desert as it is" exhibition will run until December 5.