The Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan is pleased to host the opening of the solo exhibition of the artist Zhazira Zhanabayeva ”Anti-Labyrinth” on 17 April 2025 at 4 pm.
The vernissage will feature works from the series entitled “The Mountain”, “Flowers”, “Celestial Bodies” and others. The semantic core of the exposition will be the series of works entitled “Anti-Labyrinth”. The term “Anti-Labyrinth” is a concept invented by the author, representing a new thought. The concept is diametrically opposed to the labyrinth, where each path inevitably leads to finding a way out, algorithms of solution, a certain point of reference, regularities and purpose, it is a special world of non-standard thinking.
Zhazira Zhanabayeva is a member of the Eurasian Creative Guild, as a professional artist, her works represents in museums across Europe and in private collections worldwide. They have also been highly commended by the jury of numerous international competitions and venues.
This year, Zhazira was a finalist in the prestigious Spanish “tARTget Painting Prize 2025” and, in May 2025, she will be honored with the Woman’s Art Award at the Woman’s Essence Show 2025. The exhibition will held at St.Art Gallery, and curating by Viviana Vannucci, who is curator of the National Pavilions at the Venice Biennale and Professor at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan.
The artist received an academic education, specializing in artistic textiles. Her preferred techniques are silk painting and hand weaving. Zhazira Zhanabayeva has been the head of one of the oldest fine arts studios in Almaty, ‘Blue Turtle’, for more than 20 years. The art studio has organized numerous exhibitions, notably at the Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with over 150 children participating.
Artist’s manifesto: “I am interested not only in preserving national traditions of applied art, but also in their actualization. My goal is to integrate tapestry, batik and felt into the contemporary art discourse. I work only with ecological materials: silk and wool. For the last 15 years, my artistic practice has been mandala art. A traditional mandala is a centered drawing inside a circle that used for spiritual practices, in art therapy and in art. I specialize in the creation of mandalas as a form of visual programming. The creation of mandalas involves a multifaceted approach encompassing meditation, the psychology of color, the symbolism of ornamental elements, the language of colors, ancient signs of Kazakh tribes and numerology. In the sacred space of the mandala I gain access to the unconscious, and the ability to trust the living creative process, without social, gender and professional conditioning. The mandala is a creative meditation. The circle. The Absolute. Completeness. Exhaustion. An opportunity to be alone with yourself and with the world. Mandala is a frozen prayer, a message to the world, a manifesto”.
The artist’s next solo exhibition will be held in London in May as part of the Eurasian Creative Guild Art Festival.
The exhibition of Zhizira Zhanabayeva, who has been engaged in the art of “mandala” for more than 15 years, presents about 20 works reflecting the philosophy of existence, sacral symbolism, conveying a certain mood and the state of the human soul, with the aim of promoting longevity, increasing energy and protection of the family.
