Abstract

Representations of Water in Modern and Contemporary Art from Kazakhstan

Inga Lāce, curator, Almaty Museum of Arts

This talk looks at paintings from natural landscapes to industrial scenes, exploring  how water has been represented in modern and contemporary art from Kazakhstan. Meaning of water has shifted across different historical and artistic contexts and depending on the artists. From depictions of rivers, lakes, and the steppe’s scarce water sources in Soviet-era painting to works celebrating industry on rivers and lakes, to more conceptual and critical approaches in contemporary practices, water emerges as both material and metaphor.

The talk considers water as a site of memory, ecological concern, and political imagination, reflecting on issues such as environmental transformation, resource extraction, and the legacy of dedication of the Aral Sea and industrialisation of Lake Balkhash. At the same time, it examines how artists engage with water in relation to nomadic cosmologies, ritual practices, and everyday life.

Bringing together works from the collections of Almaty Museum of Arts, alongside broader regional practices, the presentation proposes water as a lens through which to understand the entanglement of landscape, identity, and history in Kazakhstan.