Farid Rasulov
b. 1985, Shusha, Azerbaijan
He lives and works in Baku
A doctor by training, Farid Rasulov suddenly became involved in the visual arts after university, to the great surprise of his friends and family. He made great strides forward in a relatively short period of time. Having originally trained at the Azerbaijan State Medical University (2006), he then became an artist, working intensively in the process. He recently represented Azerbaijan at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. Rasulov is involved in a wide range of artistic media – large-scale paintings, installations, three-dimensional graphics, animation and sculpture. His works are usually conceptual and intellectually provocative. He stubbornly denies that his art is multi-layered and profound. He insists that he means absolutely nothing by it, that he simply replicates commonplace objects that he sees around him.
“My work is based on the fact that I do not take it seriously – and neither do I take seriously the things I portray,” says Rasulov. “I often observe how viewers carefully scrutinize my works, searching for hidden meaning. This is fascinating to watch, since what they’re looking for does not exist.”
Though he works in a variety of media, he is perhaps best known for his large-scale, hyper-realistic still-life paintings. These works depict objects against vividly coloured backgrounds, which seem to be layered with hidden meaning. Yet Rasulov still adamantly denies that his work contains any symbolism or metaphor, finding it amusing to see viewers struggling with his hidden messages. Instead, the artist wishes to simply convey that our everyday existence is deceptively simple, particularly when viewed through the objects with which we surround ourselves.
Solo Exhibitions
2013
Actual Tradition, Sharjah Islamic Art Festival, Sharjah, UAE
2012
Seafood, Aidan Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2010
Subjects, Kichik QalArt Gallery, Baku, Azerbaijan
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014
New Territories, Expo Chicago, Chicago, USA
2013
Ornamentation, 55th Venice Biennale, Azerbaijan Pavilion, Italy
Love Me, Love Me Not: Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan and its Neighbours, Collateral Event for the 55th International Venice Biennale, Italy
Merging Bridges, Modern Art Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
2012-2013
Fly To Baku: Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan, Kunsthistorisches Museum - Neue Burg, Vienna, Austria; Spazio D - Maxxi building National Museum of XXI Century arts, Rome, Italy; Spazio D MAXXI building, National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, Italy; Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Russia; me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany; Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, Paris, France; Phillips de Pury & Company, London, UK
2012
012 Baku Public Art Festival, organised by YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku, Azerbaijan
Commonist, organised by YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku, Azerbaijan
Next Level, YAY Gallery, Baku, Azerbaijan
2011
Foreword, Alternative Art Place, Baku
Fired Up, Gazelli Art House, London, UK
Fabulous Four, Kichik QalArt Gallery, Baku
Big Caucasus, PERMM Gallery, Perm, Russia
Boundaries, C99 Art Project, 99 Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, London, UK
2010
Azerbaijan Contemporary Art, Aidan Gallery, Moscow
Under The Scalding Sun, Deutsch Kyrkha, Baku, Azerbaijan
2009
Bakunlimited: Cultural Days of Azerbaijan, Voltahalle, Basel, Switzerland
M'Artian Fields, Young Artists’ Collaboration, M’ARS Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Cogito Ergo Sum, 53rd International Art Exhibition of Venice Biennale, Azerbaijan Pavilion, Italy
2008
Art Is Not Only Ugly, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Berlin, Germany
Steps of Time: Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan, Residenzschloss, Dresden, Germany
Minimum Wage, Centre of Contemporary Arts, Baku, Azerbaijan
Imagine Art After, E:vent Gallery, Tate Britain. London, UK
2007
Realities of Dreams, Aluminum 3, International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Baku Azerbaijan
