SETAREH is honoured to present the debut exhibition of the visionary force which is Aigana Gali, a painter who has within a decade made a body of work for the ages.

In her first exhibition with the gallery, Gali presents images which contain ancient knowledge that comes to her similarly to the way images came to artists like William Blake or Hilma af Klint, a spiritual process that she describes as 'excavating the light'. Born on the ancient crossing of the Great Silk Road in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Aigana's formative years were spent in the wild, open cradle of the Eurasian Steppe. This rich cultural heritage is an infinite source for her work, which she brings to life through the universal language of colour and form. This exhibition will feature work from an important series influenced by this landscape, as well as her recent Light Works.

For several years, Gali became deeply focused on making the series of works entitled Steppe, which express Aigana's spiritual connection to the topographical vastness of her native land. Conjuring the atmospheric emptiness of the region, layers of colour are built up by sweeping giant brushes over canvas laid on the floor. Radiant and mutable, like sea or sky, these works capture the ephemeral nature of colour found in wide open spaces.

Importantly, Steppe laid the ground work for her next series, Tengri-Light Works. After thoroughly exploring her memory of light and colour, Aigana felt ready to deliver a very precise message, something completely different from anything she had done before. The works evolve out of a specific point in the canvas from which the light and shapes unfold in perfect, geometric order. Using fine brushes, the artist kneels before each image, working "like an archeologist, excavating the light." Fully embracing the spiritual potential of abstraction articulated by artists such as Piet Mondrian and Charmion von Wiegand, Gali's production likewise has the potential visual force for reflection, social development and balance.

Aigana Gali's art has moved audiences at exhibitions in Paris, Dubai, Moscow, London, Tbilisi, and Capetown to name a few. Light Works is the debut exhibition of these important canvases in Germany.

Press release courtesy SETAREH.