A family exhibition featuring the works of artist Natalya Kalugina and her son, Gennady Osipov, is currently on display at the Exhibition Center of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan.
In Natalya Kalugina’s creative family, no one ever puts down a paintbrush—not even her grandmother, Yustina, who is now over 90 years old. The works of Natalya Pavlovna and Gennady Osipov are part of the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan, and their artistic styles are instantly recognizable.
Like many painters, Natalya Kalugina captures the beauty of Turkmen nature on canvas, but she does so in her own distinctive way. Her landscapes are filled with sunlight, which explains the predominance of warm yellow tones in her paintings. Delicate strokes and touches of lilac subtly appear throughout her works, also reflecting the brilliance of the sun. Natalya Pavlovna is an admirer of Claude Monet’s Impressionist approach to painting.
Gennady, by contrast, is an abstract artist whose interpretation of the surrounding world is entirely different. The centerpiece of his exhibition is "Dream," in which he demonstrates his mastery of abstract landscape painting. The work revolves around three central elements—sky, mountains, and water. In the upper part of the composition, the sky merges with the cascading waters of a waterfall, together plunging downward and crashing against the rocks. The title suggests that the waterfall was not painted from life but appeared to the artist in a dream, complete with its magnificent spray and roaring sound. The dream was so vivid that it found its way onto the canvas. The mountains and water symbolize the primordial foundations of the Earth, while the sky serves as a protective veil enveloping the planet.
This theme continues in another work entitled "Abstraction," where the sky, mountains, and water are depicted using only two colors—orange and dark brown. The landscape evokes a sense of fantasy inspired by the surreal beauty of unusual natural scenery illuminated by the setting sun.
Several paintings in the exhibition bear the title "Abstraction." One in particular captures the attention of visitors. Bold swirls of dark and light cherry-red create a striking contrast against a white canvas that subtly shows through the layers of paint. Although these flowing forms depict no recognizable objects and belong to the realm of non-representational abstraction, they nevertheless captivate viewers, often holding their attention for long periods.
The painting "Chocolate" illustrates how everyone's favorite delicacy succumbs to the heat and begins to melt. Yet it does so with remarkable elegance, flowing in smooth, graceful waves. While most people’s instinctive reaction would be to eat the chocolate before it melts completely, Gennady's response was different—to transform that fleeting moment into a work of art.
A separate section of Gennady Osipov’s exhibition is devoted to computer graphics. Among the featured works are images of the Eiffel Tower and the Disneyland Castle. He has been passionate about this form of art since childhood and can rightfully be regarded as one of the pioneers of computer graphics in Turkmenistan.
As we have learned, an interesting story lies behind this aspect of his artistic career. In 1999, Gennady represented Turkmenistan at the World Rapid Chess Championships for Children and Youth, held at Disneyland Paris. Although he did not become a grandmaster and remained a Candidate Master of Sports, it was there that he took a reference photograph of one of the attractions where the tournament was held. Later, using computer graphics, he transformed the attraction into a futuristic spacecraft designed for transporting humans to other planets.
In 2000, an online World Computer Graphics Competition was announced for participants over the age of 18. Without disclosing his age, Gennady submitted twenty works. His "Spacecraft" received an award, as confirmed by the certificate he still carefully preserves. Thus, Gennady Osipov brought international recognition to Turkmenistan in the field of computer graphics.
Although the two artists live and work under the same roof, their distinctly different artistic philosophies do not influence one another. Nevertheless, the exhibition of Natalya Pavlovna’s works, which greets visitors at the entrance to the gallery, includes paintings such as "Trees," created in the spirit of Primitivism, "Landscape with Gena on the Cliff," painted in the Impressionist style, and the emotionally charged "Landscape," executed in the style of Expressionism. In this way, Natalya Kalugina, like Gennady Osipov, continues to explore new artistic directions in her creative work.
The two artists share one common passion—the creation of exclusive costume jewelry from Turkmen semi-precious stones. "All of this lies beneath our feet," Natalya Pavlovna says while presenting her collection of women's jewelry. "You simply have to recognize the beauty hidden within the stones and give them a new life."
The exhibition will remain open through 9 July.
