The Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan is currently hosting an exhibition devoted to World Health Day – April 7 – the day, which marks the founding of the World Health Organization. On display are paintings, arts and crafts, and photographs.

Visitors to the exhibition are offered the chance again to be regaled with paintings by luminaries of the national school of painting: ‘Professor Sary Karanov’ by Pavel Korolev, ‘A Rural Hospital’ and ‘Professor Aysoltan Mamedkulieva’ by Niyazmurad Dovodov, among others.

‘Motherhood’ by Yakub Annanurov depicts Ashgabat’s maternity hospital, happy parents holding their new-born baby, and medical staff sharing in the new parents’ joy…

By tradition, one of the exhibition’s sections showcases sports. On view are painterly interpretations that portray active lifestyles, exude a sense of movement and dynamics, and show great determination to win: ‘Before the Start’ by Chary Ovvaev, ‘Football Players’ by Annadurdy Almammedov, and ‘The First Match’ by Jumadurdy Bekdurdyev.

The exhibition also features photographs. One of them depicts cyclists racing towards the finishing line along Ashgabat’s modern avenue, closed to private cars at the moment. These mass-participation cycling events take place on June 3, World Bicycle Day, instituted by the United Nations on our country’s initiative.

Health themes also emerge in paintings devoted to natural wonders of Turkmenistan. One of them is “A Fine Day” by Bekdury Jumadurdyev. It shows the Gekdere Gorge adorned in the wonderfully poetic hues of spring. The painting’s centerpiece is a mighty plane tree with its bare, flexible branches reminiscent of quaint symbols of secret writing. As museum specialist Nuryagdy Babaev explained, the painting’s composition reflects meaningful accents: the emerald-green grass, young women and men symbolize youth, while the tree represents wisdom and traditions…

Tamara GLAZUNOVA

Photo: Yuri SHKURIN