Ocula Report 4th Kochi-Muziris Biennale: Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life 15 Feb 2019 : Natalie King for Ocula 'Poems are like sentences that have taken their clothes off.' Marlene Dumas' poetic and sensual refrain accompanies her figurative watercolours on view in Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life, the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) in the southern state of Kerala, India (12 December 2018–29 March 2019).Dumas' new series...
Ocula Conversation Ellen Altfest The paintings of Ellen Altfest are ethereal in their detail. Fields of minutiae come together as pulsating images; small brushstrokes of oil paint accumulate over a series of months to single out seemingly innocuous subjects, such as a hand resting atop patterned fabric (The Hand, 2011) or a deep green cactus reaching upwards from beneath a bed of...
Ocula Report Colomboscope 2019: Cross Currents and Dissonance 8 Feb 2019 : Nada Raza for Ocula On the rooftop of the former Rio Hotel complex in Colombo, it was hard to ignore the high-rise buildings, still under construction, blocking all but a sliver of what used to be an open view over Slave Island, once an island on Beira Lake that housed slaves in the 19th century, and now a downtown suburb. The hotel was set alight during the...
Najafov originally trained as a soldier, as well as a professional sportsman – coaching hand-to-hand combat. Inspired by other self-taught artists such as Paul Gauguin and Francis Bacon, it was only in 2003 that he began to experiment with oil paint. In a short span of time, Najafov has been touted to be the next “Francis Bacon” and has since been chosen to represent his country, Azerbaijan, at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009.
Najafov is at the forefront of Azerbaijan’s Contemporary art scene and his expressive oil paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in prestigious international fairs and exhibitions. With his impressive body of work and growing international recognition, Najafov is an integral part of the burgeoning Azeri art scene. Najafov’s artworks have exhibited throughout Europe – London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, and Geneva.
Related Press 'ABSORB, ADHERE, ADVANCE': NIYAZ NAJAFOV ArtAsiaPacific : 17 May 2017 Azeri artist Niyaz Najafov has been touted as the next Francis Bacon, and in many ways the comparison is apt. Najafov, like Bacon, is self-taught. Having worked as a professional hand-to-hand fighter, a soldier in the Soviet army, and later a policeman, he first experimented with oil paints in 2003 at the age of 35, and was selected to represent...
Related Video & Audio Niyaz Najafov | Museum Centre Baku Gazelli Art House : 8 January 2018 Najafov originally trained as a soldier, as well as a professional sportsman – coaching hand-to-hand combat. Inspired by other self-taught artists such as Paul Gauguin and Francis Bacon, it was only in 2003 that he began to experiment with oil paint. In a short span of time, Najafov has been touted to be the next "Francis Bacon" and has...
