Non-abstract Talent and Avant-Garde Work of Artist and Teacher

... A woman sits at a writing table habitually bending her head over her lesson plans; a table lamp with a tulip-shaped shade sheds a generous light on the table with its soft gleams falling upon the teacher’s concentrated face. A pile of notebooks, books, a mug of gradually cooling tea, and an eyeglasses case are seemingly commonplace things for a laconic minimalist-style study room, but painted in orange, crimson and amethyst hues, and coupled with the artist’s emotions and imagination, they are transformed into an original impressionist painting dedicated to her mother...

In late 2019, I visited an exhibition featuring the work by Tachjemal Gylychdurdyeva. Several tens of abstract paintings that amazed and delighted visitors by the artist’s special way of experiencing the world, talent and non-conventional approach to art-making, added a splash of color and zest to the exhibition hall.

It was the third solo exhibition presented by Tachjemal. Her first exhibition put on view at the Academy of Arts’ gallery, the then-fifth-year student devoted to her late father. Tachjemal painted his portrait in oil from memory. It was the centerpiece of the exhibition that showcased the works, including landscape and still-life paintings, which were inspired by her beloved father and indirectly conveyed her love for him.

Tachjemal had been thoroughly prepared for her chosen profession: she attended Byashim Nurali Children’s Art School, Art College and the Academy of Arts. She has been keen on drawing and painting since she was a child. And her childhood dream was to become an animator. As a little girl, Tachjemal came to the realization that drawing brought her a feeling of happiness. She won her first prize in a national artistic competition when she was in the third year at school. Two years later, she went to the Children’s Art School...

- When I was just embarking upon my artistic career, Tachjemal tells, I won many awards, but my most remarkable achievement at that time was taking first place in a contest for the best depiction of Akhalteke horses. And it was the time when I could share this joy with my father.

Painting combines a variety of genres and styles. Full of youthful vigor and passion for experimentation, she has enthusiastically tried her hand at many of them: realism, academicism, miniature painting, graphic art, and computer graphics. She turned to abstract painting later.

Her second solo exhibition that took place at the capital’s Exhibition Center was dedicated to her mother.

- My mother worked as a school teacher for more than 40 years, Tachjemal tells. In the evenings she sat at the table to write her lesson plans. I portrayed her at one of those moments.

At the time Tachjemal worked at the State Museum of the State Cultural Center picturesquely situated in the part of the Turkmen capital adjacent to the mountains, where every spring the hills were ablaze with blood-red poppies, tender purple bellflowers and wild chamomile flowers swaying in the wind. This inspired a series of exquisite still-life paintings of flowers, presented at the exhibition devoted to her mother. Working on the portrait, the artist deliberately used the vibrant colors and expressive thickly textured brushstrokes to create a flickering effect.

- In 2015, I participated in the 10th International Art Symposium on the Silk Road in the city of Elabuga (Tatarstan, the Russian Federation) that brought together artists from 45 countries. I presented two paintings: “The Karakum Desert” and “A Caravanserai Roadside Inn”. Works craftily created by fellow artists from different countries that extended the boundaries of aesthetics and painting made a lasting impression on me.

By the time, I had begun to work in the avant-garde style, suprematism, to be more precise, the art of painting characterized by a blend of color and flat geometric shapes. By the way, the collection of my suprematist paintings was later on display at the Museum of Fine Arts.

It was my passionate interest in suprematism that offered me ample opportunities in teaching: I teach the Principles of Design at Printing Technology College.

Abstract art is now dominant in my work. I love it when people spend a long time taking a close look at my paintings, trying to understand my ideas, feelings, perception of the world and pulsation of emotions conveyed in them. Probably, my views on modern art and my place in it will change in the future and I will be able to explore and discover a whole new dimension as an artist...