Aigana Gali

Thoughtful painting, classical composition, Renaissance palette and unique photographic technique symbolise her works. Relics and modern representations at once, they return a viewer to a long-forgotten dialogue about feelings that have been discarded for later contemplation.

Aigana Gali was born in 1980 in Almaty (Kazakhstan) of Georgian/Kazakh descent and was raised in Kazakhstan, which is the ancient crossing on the Great Silk Road, where Asia and Europe mix to give the world a unique blend of culture. The religious mix of orthodox Christian mother and Muslim father have gifted her with an endless theme of her works-the nature of God within human beings. She was always interested in the depiction of Saints, and in the 2002 Aigana took a course of Christian Iconography at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. She has studied at the Kazakh State Fine Art and Architecture Academy, then at the Kazakh Academy of Science and then moved to London, where she is studying at Sotheby's Institute of Art and working at Kazakh-British Art Council as an Art Councillor.

Aigana’s first solo exhibition was held in 2003 at The Almaty Art Gallery-one of the biggest Kazakhstan contemporary art gallery. Aigana is one of the brightest young talents of the Kazakhstan modern art. She has made six successful one-person exhibitions of painting and a drawing, including a major exhibition in the Kazakh National Museum, which became the first personal exhibition of such a young artist to be conducted in the legendary walls of the museum. The first London exhibition was held at The Westbury Hotel Gallery in London in 2010.

Aigana has worked as an artistic director in a theatre, featured in three main roles in Kazakh films. Her works in film have being noticed by John Malkovich and Michael Fitzgerald. In the 2009 she was nominated as a “Discovery of the Year” as an actress at the Eurasia Film Festival.

Aigana has works both in private and public collections in Russia, Europe and Kazakhstan. Over hundred works already have being sold.

Exhibitions:
2010 - The Westbury Hotel Gallery, London
2009 - OYU Art Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2007 - A. Kasteev State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan
2006 - Zig-Zag Art Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2005 - Ark Art Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2004 - The Alma-Ata Art Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan

"Seraphim!!! Nino!!! Georgiy !!! Georgiy !! Georgiy !!
I close my eyes and silently scream... My scream shakes the world inside me and fills the vacuum with salient tunnels of sound.
Saints look straight into my eyes... I toss in fear... Calm down, silently observe their faces… I touch their hands… I want to remember everything...
As a bolt of lightning, sharp sound pierces through my head.
I am treading my own path, but everywhere I look, I see faces of my Saints and hear the rustling of their wings."

                                                                        From a novel The Holy Garden by Aigana Gali