At the Presidential Center of the DPA RK, a solo exhibition titled "On the Wave of Abai" by contemporary Kazakh artist, art historian, and designer Anar Aubakir has opened. The exhibition is dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the great thinker and poet Abai Kunanbayev and his legacy.
The opening was attended by figures from the artistic community, government bodies, public organizations, and youth representatives.
“Anar Aubakir, known for her distinctive style that fuses traditional Kazakh art with contemporary visual language, presents a new series of 35 works. These paintings reinterpret Abai's philosophical ideas— his reflections on life, nature, humanity, and the pursuit of enlightenment,” said Bakytzhan Temirbolat, Director of the Presidential Center.
The exhibition "On Abai’s Wave" serves not only as a tribute to the renowned poet but also as a thoughtful exploration of his impact on modern art and culture. Visitors will encounter artworks rendered in vibrant colors, where traditional Kazakh motifs blend with symbolic elements to create complex and meaningful compositions.
“Through my art, I wanted to show how Abai’s ideas remain relevant today. His Words of Edification still inspire and challenge us. To me, Abai is not a distant historical figure, but a living source of wisdom — one that helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us,” shared Anar Aubakir.
The exhibition features more than 60 works by the author.
The artist’s work is built upon a synthesis of meditative experience and artistic exploration. Her paintings emerge from inner contemplation, revealing imagery that is both philosophical and deeply personal. Felt, tapestries, costumes, household objects, and sacred Kazakh symbols are transformed into metaphors — "keys" that unlock our connection to ancestral roots and higher dimensions of being.
The series of paintings, "Konyr", the paintings "Kapsyrma" (Clasp with a message), the installations "Sary May", as well as the works, are based on the principle of "double image". Each work simultaneously addresses the past and the present, philosophy and heroism, the intimate and the collective. In the images of khan figures, abyzes, batyrs, singers of the spirit, the artist strives to combine wisdom and strength, spirit and flesh, light and matter.
Anar Aubakir's work is a search for a language that can simultaneously preserve tradition and open up new horizons of contemporary art. The exhibition is intended not only to show artistic images, but also to reveal inner worlds, where the viewer meets himself through the prism of Kazakh culture.
Anar Aubakir is a laureate of numerous national and international awards in painting, design, and sculpture. Her works are held in public and private collections in Kazakhstan, Tatarstan, Germany, and Russia. She has taken part in major international exhibitions, including "Four Generations of Kazakh Women" (Berlin, 2018) and "Eurasian Utopia" (South Korea, 2018).
