1928-2017

(1928, Abay – 2017, Alakol) Sabyr Mambeyev was a foundational figure in modern Kazakh painting, known for his psychologically attuned portraits and laconic visual language. Orphaned young, he was raised in the outskirts of Almaty and entered the Alma-Ata Art School during World War II, studying alongside artists Moldakhmet Kenbayev, Zhanatai Sharden and Gulfairus Ismailova. He later trained at the Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute of Arts, graduating in 1953. In the following years, the artist went to Senezh, an experimental studio of art and design near Moscow and undertook an in-depth study of Kazakh folk art. Working across portraiture and landscape, he sought not to reproduce appearances but to express ‘a world of my own’, blending calm restraint with symbolic use of form and colour. In Qonaqtar, the painting Assy reflects a longstanding engagement with landscape as a space of quiet introspection and enduring power. His portrait Bayan depicts art historian Bayan Barmankulova, a contemporary of many featured artists and advisor to both the exhibition and the Almaty Museum of Arts collection, emphasizing warm ties of friendship and mentorship throughout the exhibition.