Said Atabekov is a

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

i artist in the fields of installation,

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

and

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

, and

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

Life

Atabekov was born in 1965 in Bes Terek in the

Tashkent Province Tashkent Region (; ) is a viloyat (region) of Uzbekistan, located in the northeastern part of the country, between the Syr Darya River and the Tien Shan Mountains. It borders Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Sirdaryo Region and Namangan Region, as well as ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. After his studies at the

Shymkent Art College Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...

, he continued with the education of upcoming artists and the organization of exhibits of their work.Ahmady Arts (2004
biography and photo impression
/ref> He began his career when the introduction of ''

perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

'' in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

which enabled him to make use of the enlarged possibilities of artistic freedom. In this time he founded the collective ''Kyzyl Traktor'' (''Red Tractor'') and experimented with international

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

.Prince Claus Fund (2011
biography
In course of history, his region had been under influence of four strong and often conflicting ideologies: nomadic

pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...

islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n influences and western

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

. The deeper paradoxes of them can repeatedly be seen in his work, such as from the time of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

, during

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and in the time following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. In 2011 Atabekov was honored with a

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awa ...

Work (selection)

*2004: Ifa gallery,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, ''Vom roten Stern zur blauen Kuppel'' *2005: Ifa galerie,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, ''Vom roten Stern zur blauen Kuppel'' *2005: 51st

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

, ''The Experience of Art'' *2007:

Kiasma Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name ''kiasma'', Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. Kiasma is part of the Finnish National Gallery, an ...

Museum of Modern Art,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, ''Time of the Storytellers'' *2007: Biennale de Montréal *2008:

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary Contemporary art, contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that cel ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, ''Tracing Roads Through Central Asia'' *2008: Winkleman Gallery,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

''I Dream of the Stans: New Central Asian Video'' *2008: ArteEast,

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

, ''Boom Boom - 4th Bishkek International Exhibition of Contemporary Art'' *2009: Kunsthalle Exnergasse,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, ''Changing Climate'' *2009: Musée du Quai Branly,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, ''Photoquai'' *2011:

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, ''Collection XXVII - East from 4°24' MuHKA'' *2011: 54th

, Central Asian Pavilion *2011:

New Museum of Contemporary Art The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-name ...

, ''Ostalgia'' *2011: 42nd Photo Festival

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

''The eye is a lonely hunter: images of humankind'' *2011: Calvert22,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, ''Between Heaven and Earth: Contemporary Art from the Centre of Asia'' *2011:Between Heaven and Earth - Contemporary Art from the Centre of Asia - Calvert22 Foundation, London, England *2011:4 st Fotofestival Mannheim Ludwigshafen_HeidelbergTHE EYE IS A LONELY HUNTER, Germany *2011:Biennale di Venezia - 54th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Venice *2011:Ostalgia - New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City, NY *2011:Moving Image" An Art Fair of Contemporary Video Art New York, NY *2012:Migrasophia - Maraya Art Centre - Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah *2012:The Eye is a Lonely Hunter – Images of Human Kind - Grimmuseum, Berlin *2012: Centro Videoinsight - Torino,Italy *2013:No-mad-nes In No Man's Land - Eslite Gallery, Taipei *2103:5th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art - Bolshe Sveta / More Light - Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow *2013:Primera Bienal del Sur en Panamá *2013: Emplazando Mundos - Bienal del Sur en Panamá, Panama City *2013:At the Crossroads: Contemporary Art from the Caucasus and Central Asia - Sotheby´s - London, New Bond Street, London, England *2013:The Eye is a Lonely Hunter - Images of Humankind - Fotogalleriet, Oslo *2013:ONE STEP/PE FORWARD Contemporary art exhibition of Kazakhstan's artists in Venice,Italy *2014:Il Piedistallo vuoto. Fantasmi dall’Est Europa - Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna, Bologna *2014:ArtDubai,UAE

References

*Art Report
reference card with expositions
*Kunstaspecte
expositions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atabekov, Said Uzbekistani photographers 1965 births Living people 20th-century Uzbekistani artists 21st-century Uzbekistani artists