A joint exhibition titled '1+1' has opened at the Tashkent Photo Gallery, bringing together the creative approaches of two independent artists—Uzbek Alisher Khamdamov and Kyrgyz Almazbek Sharshekeev. This exhibition represents a fusion of two distinct creative directions characteristic of contemporary Central Asian art.
Alisher Khamdamov, who was born in the Fergana region, graduated from the P. Benkov Republican College of Fine Arts and the Kamoliddin Behzod National Institute of Fine Arts and Design. In his painting, expressive possibilities of color, compositional dynamism, and the harmony of visual and imaginative elements are highly significant. For Khamdamov, color serves as a means of expressing not only what is seen but also what is felt.
Art connoisseurs in Tashkent are already familiar with Khamdamov's works; in 2025, his solo exhibition 'Feelings Living in Colors' was held at the Photo Gallery. Khamdamov himself notes that it is important to him for the viewer to feel the mood of the work and find resonance with their own feelings in it, as color helps express emotions that are difficult to put into words.
Almazbek Sharshekeev is a landscape painter and educator, and a member of the Kyrgyz Association of Artists. He received education at the S. A. Chuikov Kyrgyz State Art Institute and the T. Sodikov Kyrgyz National Academy of Arts. Sharshekeev has been engaged in pedagogical activities alongside his creative work for many years, teaching youth from his experience.
His creative approach, according to the press release, is characterized by the fact that 'the striving of the academic school and the search for new plastic solutions are consistent.' Sharshekeev interprets reality through color, form, and composition in an emotional and figurative manner. The '1+1' exhibition has become a platform for the dialogue of two cultures and two creative worlds. The different artistic approaches presented in the exhibition demonstrate the diversity of contemporary Central Asian art, as well as the harmony between traditions and personal searches.
