On March 2, 2026, at 4:00 PM, the National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan will host the opening of the solo exhibition “HISTORY OF CRAFT” by Bolat Mukhamediyev – People’s Figure of Kazakhstan, Academician of the Academy of Arts of Kazakhstan, and the World Academy of Art “Mondial Art Academia”.
Bolat Mukhamediyev is one of Kazakhstan’s most distinguished artists, whose creative career spans more than five decades and represents a unique synthesis of book graphics, painting, abstraction, architecture, sculpture, design, and photography. He was born on March 12, 1957, in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan, he pursued his studies at the Almaty Art College and the Lviv Academy of Book Arts, and later continued at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute and the Dresden University of Industrial Graphics. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, including a gold medal at the World Abstract Artists Competition in Paris in 2023, and has been recognized as an honorary artist in 12 countries worldwide. His name is listed in the World Encyclopedia “Artists of Children Book 1945-1991”, and his achievements have been featured in the American edition of Forbes.
From 1982 to 1991, B. Mukhamediyev was awarded six international prizes in the field of book and magazine art in Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Turkey, and Japan. Between 1992 and 2023, he created 11 thematic steles and over 50 small architectural forms, as well as developed five architectural projects. During his work at the magazine “Knowledge and Labor”, the artist illustrated 24 covers, and at the “Kazakhstan” publishing house, he designed more than 300 publications across various genres, including fiction, children’s literature, and popular science. His books have received first and second-degree diplomas at exhibitions in Moscow and Dresden.
Since the beginning of 1995, Bolat Mukhamediyev has been actively using digital technologies to create graphic works and designs, which has enabled him to work on advertising materials, architectural projects, and exhibition displays.
Mukhamediyev works in multiple genres and directions of visual art – traditional and digital painting, sculpture, and graphics creating complex compositions with a high level of detail. The artist has completed numerous sculptural projects, including significant monuments and steles, such as “From the Steppes to Space” in honor of the 70th anniversary of cosmonaut T. Aubakirov in Karaganda, “Tree of Clans” for the 350th anniversary of Kazybek Bi in the village of Egindibulak, a stele for the “Green Quarter” residential complex in Astana, the stele “Golden Ear” in the village of Novonikolsk-Zenchenko, the directional stele “Nauryzbai Audany” in Almaty, the monument “100th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey” in Mersin, as well as the “Rotunda” arch in Ulytau, among others.
This exhibition is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the artist’s creative career and presents a large-scale retrospective, reflecting the main stages of his professional journey and the multifaceted nature of his artistic vision.
The exposition covers the period from 1973 to the present and includes works created over different years from student pieces produced during his studies at the Almaty Art College (AHU) to mature and contemporary projects of recent years. This chronological and thematic diversity allows visitors to trace the evolution of the artist’s visual language, the shift in his artistic priorities, and the expansion of his creative endeavors.
The artist’s creativity is not limited to traditional forms of visual art. Alongside painting and graphics, since the 1990 he has been actively working in a number of related and interdisciplinary fields. The exhibition features examples of book graphics, posters, and illustrations for books and magazines, paintings, computer graphics projects, photographs, as well as architectural and interior design developments. More than 120 works by the artist are on display at the exhibition.
The National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan invites everyone to this unforgettable event to personally experience the unique artworks of Bolat Mukhamediyev and be inspired by his creative vision.
Opening date and time: March 2, 2026, 4:00 PM
Venue: National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Samal-1, 44
The exhibition will run until March 16, 2026
