Valori Plastici: Metaphysical art in Kazakhstan. A visitor’s review

Almaty in the winter, frosty and snowy. I’m soaking up the city’s festive chaos, running around searching for the finest souvenirs and refuelling in the gourmet part of the mall. This is art on its own, and art never leaves me whenI’m at home — going to my favourite gallery is always something I look forward to. This time, it was a group exhibition featuring a wide range of works in various media created by a number of contemporary Kazakh artists. The exhibition’s name, Valori Plastici, refers to the Italian magazine and Giorgio de Chirico’s (1888–1978) “metaphysical” era of creativity, in which he created a mysterious realm torn from time and beyond the limitations of human reasoning in his early works. In the magazine, De Chirico expressed his primary views about metaphysicalart. For artists, it means exploring themselves, the space around them, and how these things are connected, elevatingthe art to a more spiritual level. Meanwhile, there is a deep relationship between theartists and their works that serves a greater purpose; as viewers, we are invited to invade it, to feel the art, tohave an awakening experience, and to engage in innerconversations. As with each show, I ask myself how theartists contribute to creating this non-physical place forus, and how we actually perceive it. Do we allow it tohappen? Do we disregard it? This review, if I may call it that, expresses my ideas and potential answers to thesequestions. To stimulate my thinking, I took images, readarticles, and investigated what Instagram has to offer,what the participating artists say, and how the visitors react. I want to begin by explaining my own reaction tot he works, and as I do so, using images as a guide, I’ll gradually come to conclusions. <a href="https://medium.com/@z.russanova/valori-plastici-metaphysical-art-in-kazakhstan-a-visitors-review-32c50d3ecf8d">Read More</a>