Baku, November 16 AZERTAC

Talented Azerbaijani artist Aida Mahmudova's solo exhibition "ELYSIUM" has opened at the Museum of Modern Art.

Azerbaijan`s first lady, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva attended the event.

The event brought together scientific and art figures, as well as representatives of diplomatic corps in Baku, members of public organizations.

Head of Humanitarian Policy Department of the President's Administration of Azerbaijan Fatma Abdullazade spoke about the exhibition, saying, "this art is a successful bridge of Azerbaijan stepped from twentieth century and into the twenty-first century."

"Azerbaijani art is represented at the Venice Biennale, as well as is display on the leading exhibit halls of Europe. Joint projects with participation of world artists are taking place in Baku, across the world."

Director of the ANAS Institute of Architecture and Arts Artagin Salamzade highlighted the importance of event, saying, "this exhibition is a really great cultural event."

Aida Mahmudova provided insight into art works by her exhibited in the event.

The exhibition will run for December 13.

Aida's solo exhibition explores the theme of an imaginary botanical garden where attendees can lose themselves.

You lose the tension and find your inspiration by just observing flowers in bloom. The artist employs painting to translate feelings and emotions into beautiful and exotic plants.

Mahmudova animates the surface of the canvas drawing attention to both the process of painting and the material qualities of the paint itself. Mahmudova plays with depth, perspective and scale, creating large-scale scenes that draw in the viewer. A structure of bold planes of color is combined with layers of textured brushstrokes. The painted surface is further animated and enlivened with the addition of materials such as polyurethane foam over which an impasto application of paint is applied to build volume.

In series of paintings, Mahmudova explores the idea of impermanence. The works provide glimpses of Azerbaijan's natural surroundings, urban environment and architecture—a backdrop that is undergoing constant and rapid change. A central component of Mahmudova's work is her exploration of memory, its links to identity, and how they both can be continually altered and re-remembered over time. She explains, "The scenes in my paintings have a strong personal resonance, combining places within Baku with those remembered and imagined. Each view captures a moment of stillness against a backdrop that is constantly changing." This tension between fiction and reality in her paintings is recreated by merging abstract and figurative forms, creating images that are both inviting and disorientating.

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1982, Aida Mahmudova lives and works in Baku. Mahmudova has exhibited widely, and is showing seascapes at the 56th Venice Biennale as part of the VITA VITALE group exhibition curated by Artwise. Her sculptural installations and paintings have been shown at exhibitions internationally including Here Today at the Old Sorting Office in London; Love Me, Love Me Not at the 55th Venice Biennale; Fly To Baku, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Rome; and Merging Bridges at the Museum of Modern Art, Baku, Azerbaijan. Her work is held in private collections globally and her sculpture Recycled is on public display on Baku Boulevard. Mahmudova is the Founder and Creative Director of YARAT, which was founded with a group of artists in 2011. YARAT is dedicated to nurturing an understanding of contemporary art in Azerbaijan and to creating a platform for Azerbaijani art, both nationally and internationally, and recently commissioned The Union of Fire and Water, a collateral project at the 56th Venice Biennale.