Mehriban Aliyeva attends "Stars of Absheron. Azerbaijani artists of 1960-1980s" exhibition in Moscow [UPDATE]

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

An exhibition entitled "Stars of Absheron. Azerbaijani artists of 1960-1980s" opened at the Russian State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow on November 14.

Azerbaijan’s First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva and Arzu Aliyeva attended the event, Azertac reported.

The exhibition was jointly organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Culture Ministry of Russia and the Marjani Foundation.

The exhibition presents a majestic exposition of works that are kept in Tretyakov Gallery, the Azerbaijani National Art Museum and private collections. The exhibition features more than 60 works by 12 Azerbaijani artists, including Javad Mirjavadov, Nadir Abdurrahamanov, Kamal Ahmad, Rasim Babayev, Sattar Bahlulzade, Toghrul Narimanbayov, Tahir Salahov and sculptor Fazil Najafov.

In her opening remarks, Director General of the Russian State Tretyakov Gallery Zemfira Tregulova highlighted the idea of launching the exhibition, and hailed the importance of the event in the cultural life of Moscow.

Mehriban Aliyeva, in her speech, described the opening of the exhibition as an outstanding event in the cultural life of Azerbaijan, expressing her hope that it will be of the same significance in the cultural life of Russia too.

Mrs. Aliyeva noted that the organizers of the exhibition chose the period of 1960s-1980s not accidentally.
           
"This is a period of bright splash of Azerbaijani art. At that time many outstanding musicians, composers, painters, sculptors lived and worked in Azerbaijan and their names were heard far beyond the republic, their names sounded in the entire Soviet Union," she said.

Talking about Azerbaijani-Russian ties, the president of Heydar Aliyev Foundation said that relations between the two countries are based on a solid historical foundation.

"This is friendly relations, which are characterized by mutual understanding and close cooperation. In addition to the common historical past, today our countries, our peoples are united by many common trends and directions. This is especially observed in the cultural space. Of course, first of all it is the great Russian language, and the great Russian literature. As you probably know, Azerbaijan is one of the few countries of the former Soviet Union, where education in Russian is fully preserved," she emphasized.  

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets thanked Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva for the professional attitude to the Azerbaijani culture in general.

In his remarks, Culture Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Marjani Foundation for the organization of the exhibition.

Speaking at the event, President of the Marjani Foundation Rustam Suleymanov expressed his hope that "Stars of Absheron" project will have great future.

The exhibition demonstrates the originality of the Azerbaijani schools, as well as testifies for the significance of art in Azerbaijan as part of the global art process.

The exhibition will run until February 26, 2017.