WELCOME TO KAZAKHSTAN

Asel Sabyrzhankyzy, better known under her creative pseudonym Assol, is one of the most prominent representatives of the young generation of artists in Kazakhstan. Asel has 14 years of professional education behind her, she is a Master of Arts in Art History. Her work has gone far beyond classical painting.Assol's work has been recognized several times by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with a certificate of honor and a personal letter of gratitude, the "Altyn Barys" badge, for her contribution to the development and popularization of art both in our country and abroad. In 2023, the girl was awarded the state award "Eren enbegi ushin", thereby becoming the youngest artist to receive such a high award. Assol is also the winner of the 2024 TikTok award in the "Ulttyk madeniet" ("National Culture") nomination.Her works amaze and gain millions of views on social networks. Asel loves to experiment. Only one thing is constant - all the artist's creations are imbued with love for the homeland, the Kazakh national culture.- Asel, you are a professional artist. Please tell us how you came to such bold experiments in your work?- Yes, I have 14 years of professional education behind me. I am a Master of Arts. I know many drawing techniques. I started with classical painting. Later, I began to show my hyperrealistic portraits on my blog. I observed the audience's reaction. After that, I realized that I needed to experiment more. And I began to develop in this direction of modern fine art. And I began to broadcast all this on my blog: I painted on different things, with different objects, I learned to draw with my left hand. I have paintings where I simultaneously draw with both hands. I even tried to draw with my feet. I have such works that I painted with all my limbs at the same time. This is what experiments lead to.- Your works on carpets brought you great fame and popularity. Tell us about this collection.- I came to this consciously, and this type of art has really sunk into my soul. I have a large series of paintings of women of the great steppe on carpets. These are 14 images from history: Kokbori, Zher-ana Aitolkyn-batyr, Gaukhar batyr, etc. I try to paint batyrs, rulers, women, for example. To show that women fought and ruled on an equal basis with men. At first, I started with a sketch, and then I spent a very long time choosing a carpet. By the way, I spend a lot of time looking for a carpet. Because it should match the patterns perfectly. The portrait, so that the face looks interesting.Exhibitions of my paintings on carpet were held in Astana, Baku, Berlin and Paris. Now I continue this series, replenishing my collection. I am very inspired by this.- Many artists now work in the ethnic style. You are among them. Why do you think this has become a trend?- Kazakhstan is a relatively new country, and our painting is also relatively new. In fact, it began to emerge in 1850, when our first artists learned the art of painting. And we had a strong desire to make up for the lack of paintings. Therefore, we artists paint on both historical and modern themes, we are actively developing in all directions. Ethnic style occupies a special place. Our Kazakh culture is very rich. You can see this just by looking at the decoration of the yurt (the dwelling of nomads). And all this was created by hand. This is all in our blood. We, artists, are filled with this spirit and want to convey it in our work. Ethnic style is not just a trend. First of all, it is a tribute to our past, the rich history of our people.- Speaking about the commercial side of art. Is it hard for an artist to make money today?- It has always been difficult for artists. From time immemorial, they must somehow learn to survive with the help of their creativity. When I was still a student, I painted to order. Then I realized that you can’t make a lot of money from this. But I wanted to be creative. And I thought a lot about how to paint the pictures you want and how to make them interesting to the audience. And I realized that you need to show the idea of ​​your painting. So I started filming videos of the whole process and showing them on my blog. When I revealed the meaning of my paintings, that’s when all the action started. People started wanting to buy my works. And then I realized that this strategy is the right one for an artist. Well, if we talk about something lofty, then the goal of my work is to inspire young artists and leave my modest mark on national fine art.