TORA AGHABAYOVA

Tora Aghabayova - After obtaining her MA degree in Fine Art Painting from Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts in 2002 Tora Aghabayova had lived in Shanghai, China and currently resides in Berlin, Germany. Her classical art training is epitomised in detail-oriented draughtsmanship in which one may trace both Soviet realism, Renaissance and Romanticism references. Her artworks, be it a depiction of imaginary creatures populating the Caspian Sea or landscapes, emit positive energy and humour. Many of Tora’s works represent female gaze on sexuality that instead of objectification playfully use visual language of an Orientalist painting to depict quotidian life scenes. Her works featured in the Azerbaijani National Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, and group exhibitions at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall in 1999, Centre for Contemporary Art, Stavanger in 2010, PERMM Museum in 2011 and 2015 and Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts in 2019, which acquired her works for the permanent collection. Tora took part in the Fly to Baku travelling exhibition (2011–2012) and Candy Mountains and Oil Coasts exhibition at PERMM Museum (2015), Off The Velvet Chest at Triumph Gallery in Moscow and SMENA in Kazan. Russia and CAFE AVARICE AND GENEROSITY in GalerieDix9 Helene Lacharmoise (2019) dedicated to Azerbaijan’s contemporary art scene.

STATEMENT

I aim to create a space where the boundaries between panic and calmness, reality and fantasy, and the conscious and the subconscious, become fluid and indistinct. Through the interplay of traditional and contemporary styles, I hope to evoke a sense of timelessness and universality, reminding viewers of the deep and enduring connections that exist between reality and beauty of the moment.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 ‘Allegory Of A Stranger’ Under The Mango Tree, Berlin

2011 ‘Double Meaning’, KicikQalart Gallery, Baku

2011 ‘Oil and Dreams’, Royal Opera House Arcade, London

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022 “Make Yourself At Home” Tardino 6 Art platform. Baku, Azerbaijan

2019 “Off The Velvet Chest” Extension project, Triumph Gallery.

Moscow. Russia

2019 “CAFE AVARICE AND GENEROSITY” GalerieDix9 Helene Lacharmoise . Paris, France

2019 ‘Kibris Modern”, Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts. Lefkosha. Cyprus.

2018 ‘Fo You’ Voluntary Art Liaison, Berlin, Germany

2015 ‘Candy Mountains, Oily Sores’ Museum of Contemporary Art, Perm, Russia

2012 “Fly to Baku. Contemporary art from Azerbaijan”, Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, Paris, France

‘Fly to Baku. Contemporary art from Azerbaijan’, Phillips de Pury & Company, London, UK

2011 ‘On Soz’, Alternative Art Space, Baku

“Big Caucasus” “White nights of Perm” Festival, Modern Art Museum, Perm, Russia

2010 ‘USSR Remix’, Tou Scene, Centre for Contemporary Art, Stavanger, Norway

2009 ‘BakUnlimited’, Cultural Days of Azerbaijan, Voltahalle, Basel, Switzerland

2007 ‘Omnia Mea’, Azerbaijan Pavilion, 52nd Venice Biennale, Venice

2003 ‘Caravan Sarai’, International Forum of Visual Art & Art Events, Tbilisi

2000 ‘Wings of Time’, Khagani Trading Centre, Baku

1999 ‘Sex 2000’, Art Manege, TheManege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow

1998 ‘The Brain of Galapagos Tortoise’, performance, Benevolent Foundation for Aesthetic Development, Baku

www.tora-a.com