- 26
Jamol Usmanov
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Description
- Jamol Usmanov
- Untitled (From Dream Series)
- signed
- oil on canvas
- 114 by 148cm.; 44 7/8 by 58 1/4 in.
- Executed in 2010.
Provenance
Alif Art Gallery, Dubai
Exhibited
Tashkent, Art Gallery of Uzbekistan, Jamol Usmanov, 2012
Literature
Akbar Khakimov, Art of Nations - II: 1992-2012, Moscow 2012, p. 207, illustrated in colour
Catalogue Note
Dreams are a recurrent theme in Jamol Usmanov’s oeuvre. The sleep depicted in his Dreams series is calm, even and relaxed. The slumbering faces are peaceful and free of worldly woes. Surrounded by exquisite gardens and painted in delicate detail, Usmanov’s sleepers are on a transcendental journey which stands in sharp contrast to the Western psychoanalytic theories of trauma manifested in dreams.
Inspired by the Eastern medieval poetry of Rumi, Navoi, Nizami and others, Usmanov’s oeuvre is filled with references to Sufi philosophy. Sufis used introspection as a method to unite with God. Thus dreams, as a state of meditative ecstasy, become a significant mode of turning away from the outer world toward one’s own spiritual journey. Usmanov’s paintings are a reflection of the artist’s conception of this journey. Imbued with harmony of form and colour, they exude a feeling of tranquillity that invites the viewer to be transported into their own fantasy world.
Usmanov dedicated this painting to his son. His dream is carefully encrypted: birds carrying cherries in their beaks are bearers of good tidings, while the snake is a symbol of wisdom, flying birds are incarnations of the soul and the ornaments they carry signify Creation. In this painting the artist masterfully employs the favourite technique of Sufi poetry of concealed messages in order to communicate his own particular worldview.
Inspired by the Eastern medieval poetry of Rumi, Navoi, Nizami and others, Usmanov’s oeuvre is filled with references to Sufi philosophy. Sufis used introspection as a method to unite with God. Thus dreams, as a state of meditative ecstasy, become a significant mode of turning away from the outer world toward one’s own spiritual journey. Usmanov’s paintings are a reflection of the artist’s conception of this journey. Imbued with harmony of form and colour, they exude a feeling of tranquillity that invites the viewer to be transported into their own fantasy world.
Usmanov dedicated this painting to his son. His dream is carefully encrypted: birds carrying cherries in their beaks are bearers of good tidings, while the snake is a symbol of wisdom, flying birds are incarnations of the soul and the ornaments they carry signify Creation. In this painting the artist masterfully employs the favourite technique of Sufi poetry of concealed messages in order to communicate his own particular worldview.