Dates: 10 February - 10 April 2023
Vernissage: Friday, 10 February, 18.00 - 20.30
in the restaurant hall of La Gorguette, Hostellerie La Farandole
Music, aperitif, a performance by the Studio Colbert dance school (Toulon, France) at 19.30
Venue: “Hostellerie La Farandole” www.hostellerielafarandole.com
France, Sanary-sur-Mer, 140 Chemin de la Plage, 83110
+33(0)4 94 90 30 20
Admission is free.
Curator: Alena Slastikhina, art journalist, researcher of history and literature
Kvartira S Gallery and Hostellerie La Farandole in Sanary-sur-Mer, France, present an exhibition of three artists, “Caravan Routes: The Art of Miniature of the Bukhara School.”
The exhibition runs concurrently with the project “Treasures of the Oases of Uzbekistan,” presented at the Louvre in Paris from November 23, 2022, to March 6, 2023.
Miniature painting is a distinctive form of visual art. In the East, miniatures were traditionally an integral part of handwritten books and manuscripts, illustrating their texts. Uzbekistan’s foremost school of manuscript miniature painting is based in Bukhara. The Bukhara school flourished in the sixteenth century, when the world’s finest artists and calligraphers worked in the city. A new style emerged here: in contrast to the vivid hues of Iranian miniatures, the Bukhara school employed a more restrained palette.
The exhibition at Hostellerie La Farandole presents contemporary works from the Bukhara school and invites visitors into an Eastern fairy tale—a journey along the Great Silk Road. Each illustration is an entire world unto itself, an enclosed system with a strict hierarchy and a rich symbolism in which not a single element is accidental.
What distinguishes the Bukhara miniature? There is no volume, perspective, or direct gaze; faces are invariably shown in profile. The artists work in tempera, watercolor, and natural pigments, including usma. One of their principal materials is gold leaf.
In 2020, “The Art of Miniature” was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
About the Artists:
DAVLAT TOSHEV
A world-renowned miniaturist, painter, and calligrapher, as well as a master restorer of ancient books and manuscripts that form an invaluable part of Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage; a member of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. He lives and works in Bukhara.
He has illustrated books published in France and Portugal. He has restored sixteenth- to eighteenth-century Oriental manuscripts held in libraries in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
In Davlat Toshev’s work as a miniature painter, national traditions blend organically with his distinctive artistic style. The artist works exclusively with handmade paper, primarily antique sheets. Each sheet is more than 200 years old and comes into the artist’s possession through his restoration of ancient books.
Davlat has participated in international festivals and exhibitions in France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Russia, Italy, and Ukraine.
MUNISA BURONOVA
The daughter of Davlat Toshev and one of his finest students. She graduated from the Kamoliddin Behzod State Institute of Arts and Design. She is a prizewinner at numerous festivals and youth competitions.
Munisa has a superb command of the Bukhara miniature technique, while her own feminine perspective on the world is reflected in her works, lending them a distinctive charm.
MADINA SAIDOVA
One of Bukhara’s youngest artists. Madina took up the art of Bukhara miniature painting thanks to her uncles, Davron and Davlat Toshev. Today, she works with students at Bukhara’s best-known madrasa (a second-level Muslim religious, educational, and teaching institution), which also serves as a centre for traditional crafts.
Madina has exhibited her work several times in various cities across France.
Photos from the Opening:
Media Coverage of the Exhibition: