(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Laman Ismayilova
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A solo exhibition "Landscapes of Baku" dedicated to the memory
of the Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, Isa Mammadov (March 5, 1956 –
June 23, 2024), will open at Baku Museum Center on December 6,
Azernews reports.
The exhibition is organized with the support of the Azerbaijan
Culture Ministry, Baku Executive Power, Azerbaijan State Academy of
Fine Arts, Baku Museum Center, Azerbaijan Artists' Union and the
Western Azerbaijan Community.
The exhibition will showcase 60 paintings by the artist
depicting his favorite corners of Baku, such as the Seaside
National Park, Nizami Street, the Train Station Square, Fountain
Square, and more.
Isa Mammadov often traveled to various regions of Azerbaijan.
Guba, Khachmaz, and Ismailli were particularly beloved places for
him. Alone in nature, he found true happiness. Happiness is perhaps
the key word that arises in the mind while gazing at the landscapes
filled with air and sunlight created by Isa Mammadov.
For him, each painting was like a real "window to nature." The
artist seemed to rediscover this world, full of colors, shadows,
and highlights, time and again, and each new subject-a meadow, a
tree, a ravine-was colored in his works by his personal perception
and individual interpretation.
Slowly, stroke by stroke, he recreated his own "second" reality,
skillfully using traditional means of painterly
expressiveness-intensity of color and light, a clear and
well-structured composition. Even the city, the noisy urban
environment, transforms in his paintings into a special organism,
living its own internal life! It is remarkable how the urban
landscapes, which are numerous among the artist's works, are
completely devoid of the city's hustle and bustle and the rigid
rhythm of life characteristic of any large city.
Here, architectural monuments, as well as simple elements of the
urban environment, including passersby, merge so seamlessly with
the light-air treatment of the canvas that they become inseparable
from the surrounding landscape, transforming into mirages, like
figments of the artist's imagination.
Whatever the artist portrayed-his favorite natural spots or
beloved corners of Baku-all are marked by his tender attitude,
love, and warmth that are transmitted to us, the viewers.
The artist often said that each motif he discovered and
reproduced became as close to him as any family member. Each motif
was an individuality, and such an approach to the subject of
representation forms the basis of his creativity.
His impressionistic manner, reinforced by a strictly realistic
perspective, allows him to admire every corner of nature.
In one of his interviews, the artist articulated his creative
credo: nature is always beautiful in itself, and it should not be
imposed with any particular effects. On the contrary, it is
essential to find and emphasize what is inherent in the motif
itself.
Isa Mammadov's landscapes are always a very personal,
introspective dialogue between the artist and nature. His style is
recognizable, and his technique is unique. He is an artist who
listens to and hears nature.
When reproducing a particular motif and working outdoors, he
always digs deeper, as if learning directly from nature itself,
becoming an inseparable element of it. His landscapes are not just
reflections of nature; they are reproductions of its essence.
The artist feels, understands, and "reads" the surrounding
world, and the internal dynamics of his works, with their lively
brushstrokes and constantly changing colors, create a sensation as
if they are saturated with the very life juices of the earth.
Unfortunately, people do not always recognize how vital the
ecosystem we live in is. Landfills and rampant pollution of seas
and lakes, deforestation, systematic emissions of deadly gases into
the atmosphere, and the release of harmful chemicals into the
world's oceans, the destruction of landscape reserves...
All of this and much more, which provokes global climate change
and the dangerous consequences of this process for the entire
planet, was discussed at the 29th session of the Conference of the
Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29),
which recently took place successfully in Baku.
Leaders from over 80 countries gathered in the capital of
Azerbaijan to collectively discuss and think about how to save our
planet-our shared home-through joint efforts.
Azerbaijan consistently and steadfastly follows the principles
of a "green" economy strategy, including "green" energy. The very
fact that the COP29 conference was held in Azerbaijan is evidence
of the international community's recognition of the measures being
taken in our country in this area.
The year 2024 has been declared the "Green World Solidarity
Year" in Azerbaijan. Sustainable development, ecology, and respect
for the environment must become priorities for each of us.
What can we, each of us, do to protect nature and save our
planet? And what can, for example, artists do? Perhaps they can
remind everyone, daily and constantly, again and again, how
beautiful our planet Earth is.
For millennia, different peoples of the world have dreamed of
paradise, and scientists even search for specific places on Earth
that could be the legendary paradise described in myths. Perhaps it
exists right here, next to us, and it is these artists who
tirelessly seek to convey this message! Yes, our Earth is
beautiful, and paradise... is around us... And who knows, perhaps
the mission of one of us-the artist, the tireless singer of his
native nature, Isa Mammadov-lies in this very truth?
Media partners of the event are Azernews, Trend, Day,
Milli and Turkic.
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