Javlon Umarbekov is believed to be one of the classics of Uzbek national fine art. He manifested himself as an extraordinary creative personality while still a student at an art school. The People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, academician has presented a large retrospective exhibition at the Gallery of Fine Arts.
The exhibition celebrates the artist’s 70th birth anniversary and 50 years of his creative activity. The exhibition, which sprawls across the entire second floor of the Gallery, includes his earliest works, such as the monumental painting ‘I Am a Human’ created in the 80s of the last century, and the paintings of recent years.
“Javlon Umarbekov had an enormous impact on the fine art of not only our country, but also the Central Asian region. His creativity is included in the golden fund of world art,” says Doctor of Art Kamola Akilova. “The range of themes, subjects, images, genres is great and varied. Landscapes, still lifes, portraits, historical subjects, as well as conventional compositions reveal different facets of the artist’s thematic preferences. Opposite directions intersect in his works – the West and the East, the national and universal, and the paintings enclose in themselves the ideas of good, humanism, truth, beauty.”
Works of Javlon Umarbekov are bipolar and at the same time always recognizable. A special place in the artist’s creativity occupies the urban theme. Grinders, musicians, vendors, markets, streets, water mills, and other attributes of the old city get reflected in the paintings of the master. Works painted during the creative journeys are radically different. For example, a series of works ‘In Algeria’ created in the late 70s of the last century, also presented at the exhibition, reflects an unusual interpretation of the landscapes seen by the author. The exhibition introduces with each stage of the master’s creative path.
“Javlon Umarbekov caught the main thing for the artist – his area in the arts, the form of embodying his plots,” says the Honored Worker of Arts of Uzbekistan, Vladimir Burmakin. “The canvases are perfect technically and semantically. He can arrange the plot space in the way he sees it. Javlon Umarbekov is focused on himself, which is important for the artist. He clearly knows his capabilities, able to coordinate them, allowing him to carry on his line hard and uncompromising.”
UNESCO Office in Uzbekistan has issued a catalog of works by Javlon Umarbekov, which is presented at the exhibition.
“I am glad to write an introductory article to the album,” said Kamola Akilova. “The artist’s works is a huge amount of material to study, because Javlon Umarbekov reckons among the great artists of Uzbekistan. The works presented in the catalog and the exhibition provide an opportunity to get in touch with the fundamentals that determine the development of the art of our country.”
The artist’s canvases are preserved in many museums around the world and prestigious galleries such as the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan, the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Art Gallery of Komatsu in Japan, as well as in the collections of major galleries of Algeria, Austria, Germany, Kuwait and other countries.
