The protagonists of the Bukhara Biennial
The works of Central Asian artists depict a world of complex identities, reimagined traditions, and reflections on society, economics, politics, and gender roles. Artists from this vast region are now at the forefront of cultural conversations, blending historical roots and contemporary tensions in symbolic works. One example of this is the over 70 site-specific projects at the Bukhara Biennial, "Recipes for Broken Hearts," running from September 5th to November 11th. These projects also recount the country's history and are conceived through collaborations between local artisans and artists residing in Uzbekistan, other Central Asian countries, and around the world.
International artists participating in the event include Antony Gormley, Subodh Gupta, Carsten Höller, Dana Awartani , Italian-Senegalese artist Binta Diaw, and Erika Verzutti, to name just a few. Their presence at the Biennale will foster a mix of interdisciplinary conversations and creative collaborations that will intertwine many spiritual and cultural traditions aimed at promoting Uzbekistan's craftsmanship. There will also be—as the title of the biennale suggests—gastronomic interventions as art forms, dismantling hierarchies through a multisensory journey.
Saule Suleimenova, «Drokpa. Üsh Kelin/Three Brides», plastic bags on polyethylene, 2021
Several food-inspired projects will be featured, including an installation by the art collective Slavs and Tatars and Uzbek ceramist Abdullo Narzullaev, centered on the melon as a divine gift, according to a local Uzbek legend. Artists Samah Hijawi (Jordan/Belgium) and Ahmad Arabov (Uzbekistan) have created a 15-meter embroidered mural tracing the movement of foods and spices traded along the Silk Roads. Lebanese artist Tarek Atoui (whose exhibition recently closed at Hangar Bicocca) will engage with Uzbek musicians in a contemporary celebration of living traditions, connecting his long-term commitment to the way musical traditions migrate across Asia, the Arab world, and beyond, with performances and workshops taking place from September 21st to 23rd.
Another collaboration with a local artisan is that of Brazilian artist Erika Verzutti (who works with Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, with prices ranging from $35,000 to $250,000). She will create the wooden sculpture "Tower of Pomegranate" in collaboration with local artisan Shonazar Jumaev. "The pomegranate," Erika Verzutti explained to Arteconomy24, "is a form that fosters a rich dialogue between my sculptural vocabulary and the local traditions of Bukhara; traditionally, the pomegranate symbolizes fertility, abundance, and prosperity, often associated with life, rebirth, and good fortune thanks to its numerous seeds, which represent abundance and continuity." The sculpture is located in a public space, near a traditional Bukhara wooden column that supports the architecture of a carpet shop. This is the first time the artist has created her series of pomegranates—previously cast in bronze or modeled in ceramic—in wood, working with Bukharan master carver Shonazar Jumaev . Together, Erika Verzutti and Shonazar Jumaev chose to "leave the surfaces semi-finished, drawing attention to the process itself—the gesture, the making, the touching." The aim of this inaugural edition of the biennial is to showcase local and regional talent.
Erika Verzutti, «Tower of Pomegranate»
Among the many talents the Biennale will highlight, some have already gained recognition in our country, such as Aziza Kadyri, who represented Uzbekistan at the last Biennale (at East Contemporary, Milan, prices range from €2,000 to €30,000 for the most complex installations). For the Biennale, Aziza is working on two projects: a large site-specific installation for the exterior of one of the madrassas, created in collaboration with artisan Yulduz Mukhiddinova , and a digital and interactive work with 3D animator Mathieu Bissonnette for a caravanserai.
Textile tradition is present in the works of Gulnur Mukazhanova, born in Kazakhstan and resident in Berlin, who exhibited in Venice in the exhibition «Memory of Hope» (from Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, Chicago, prices from 9 thousand to 35 thousand euros).
Hailing from Bukhara, Oyjon Khayrullaeva's work, a combination of photography and digital collage, draws on the city's history, visible on her Instagram account (@janajaaan). For the Biennale, she will present a video in which her grandmother and aunt share ancestral knowledge of traditional remedies, including the use of mud from Bukhara's ruined walls for skin healing. Her work exemplifies how contemporary art in the region continues to be deeply rooted in tradition while exploring new interdisciplinary narratives.
Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser, India/UK) will present a monumental ikat tapestry created in collaboration with weavers from the city of Margilan. Spanning several kilometers, the ikat will serve as a textile artery connecting the beginning and end of an evolving and growing cultural district. The ikat motif references both the disappearance of the blue tiles of Bukhara's mosques and the evaporation of the Aral Sea. Every full moon, a ritual to invoke water will accompany the vast tapestry.
Munisa Kholkhujaeva (Tashkent, 1997), combines traditional Central Asian motifs with a contemporary visual language in her works and is gaining growing international recognition. At dOCUMENTA 15 she presented her performance of creating textile-based amulets “TUMOR” as part of the collective “DAVRA”, (at Mehran Contemporary prices from 2,500 to 15,000 euros, depending on the medium and complexity).
Painting by Yunus Farmonov from the project «Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser)» at the Bukhara Biennale, in collaboration with Rasuljon Mirzaakhmedov, Margilan Crafts Development Centre, 2025
Born in 1970 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Saule Suleimenova is an artist who works in a variety of media, from painting to graphic design to public art. In her work, Suleimenova explores the construct of collective memory and researches archives and photographs, as well as the semiotics of contemporary cities and the history of Kazakhstan. Her most recent series, "Cellophane Paintings," is made from used plastic bags and features motifs ranging from the socio-political to the personal (from Andalukova Gallery, Dubai, the series of plastic bag works ranges from $2,000 to $18,000 depending on the size).
Gulnur Mukazhanova , born in Kazakhstan and living in Berlin for over a decade, exhibits the tradition of textile art. Mukazhanova belongs to a generation of Central Asian artists who emerged on the international scene thanks to the Central Asia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2005–2013), which explored the post-Soviet artistic identities of countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Growing up between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the birth of independent Kazakhstan, her work reflects a fluid identity that blends memory and modernity. Reviving nomadic traditions and everyday materials introduced during the Soviet era, Mukazhanova combines local textiles with Chinese fabrics, creating complex and evocative visual surfaces capable of evoking the vast horizons of the Eurasian steppes (at Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, her textile works range from €9,000 to €29,000). Her works in fine merino wool felted by hand, brocade, lurex, velvet, pins
Bekhbaatar Enkhtur, born in 1994, is a Mongolian artist who will be among the protagonists of the Biennale. His works are inspired by ancient Shiite tradition and are made with malleable organic materials, such as raw clay and beeswax. The sculptures for the Biennale are made of tin, and some are made of fabric (from Matèria, Rome, prices range from €1,000 to €40,000).
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