Aladdin Garunov, 'Sufi Zikr 1', 2008
rug, rubber, 195x145
Aladdin Garunov, 'Sufi Zikr 3', 2008
rubber, fur, silver paint, 195x145
Aladdin Garunov, 'Saints 1', 2006
canvas, rubber, siver paint, 200x150
Aladdin Garunov's work relies heavily on cultural and textural juxtapositions. In many of his pieces the spiritual vocabulary of the east, represented by fragments of hand-knotted carpets from central Asia or copies of Byzantine mosaics, strikes an uneasy balance with the strident materials and textures of Western modernism. Together they represent a tactile point of intersection at which cultural and spiritual codes intermingle, change and are eventually diluted.
At first glance the juxtapositions lend themselves to the obvious tropes of our era: east versus west, sacred versus secular, new versus old, industrial versus hand-made and so on. But there is something less aggressive and altogether more ambivalent that is referred to here, something rather closer to a merger or a slow fade out.
An air of melancholy and impending encroachment pervades many of Garanov's paintings. In 'Saints 1' (2006) a pair of Byzantine saints are painted in silver onto a black background of canvas and rubber. Their static, flat figures mark them as spiritual icons, but removed from their context and stripped of their glittering Byzantine mosaic tesserae their garments and gestures become mere codes for spiritual intensity. It is like looking at a photo negative of something beautiful and familiar, but distant.
To view his profile page on Saatchi Online click here
Angela Marisol Roberts
Angela Marisol Roberts is a freelance art critic, editor and art historian currently living and working in Germany. She was Art editor at Butter magazine and now writes on contemporary art, fashion, design and travel. She has published several articles on contemporary art in several magazines including Art Review and Saatchi Gallery online.
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