About the author

Artist, sculptor, painter, graphic artist. Born in 1956 in the village of Ukuz, the Republic of Dagestan. Lives and works in Moscow. Aladdin Garunov is one of the leading Russian artists working with the traditions of Muslim culture. In his work, he combines the attributes of two cultures — patriarchal eastern and progressive western: techniques of avant-garde and minimalism and classical pictorial approach, archaic materials -industrial rubber, carpets, worn shoes, fur, footprints and innovative media — video installations and photographic materials. The artist is primarily interested not in the religious aspect of culture, but in the situation of modern man in the industrial world. According to the artist himself, his views were formed under the influence of the Russian and European avant-garde of the early 20th century, the American artists of the New York School.

The Zikr project, which was created specifically for the outbuilding-ruin of the Museum of Architecture named after A. V. Shchusev and brought the author the title of finalist for the Kandinsky Prize (2010) is a philosophical reflection on the theme of one of the central concepts in Islam, expressed in a minimalistic, form consonant with urbanism.

The main video installation directly visualizes dhikr - ritual, dance, choir, exhausting physical exercise and prayer appeal to Allah at the same time. The video is complemented by a series of paintings-objects created according to the ready-made principle - from the remnants of industrial materials, combined with fragments of bright ornamental carpets. "Whatever no matter the artists of Dagestan try to depict, it turns out to be a carpet, and I myself am not an exception. Nevertheless, the contemporary artist, remembering his roots, is in the world artistic process. If we not can tear ourselves away from our carpets, we should at least try not to repeat them, but use", — Aladdin Garunov.

Works are in collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Moscow), Kolodzei Art Foundation (New Jersey, USA), and also in ;Private collections in Russia, Great Britain, USA and other countries.1

The project "Zikr", which was created specifically for a dilapidated wing of the A.V. Schusev State Museum of Architecture and made the artist one the finalists of the Kandinsky Prize in 2010, is a philosophical reflection on one of the central concepts in Islam, expressed in a minimalistic, harmonious form of urbanism. The main video installation shows the zikr – simultaneously a ritual, a dance, a choir, an exhausting physical exercise and prayer supplication to Allah.

The video is complemented by a series of paintings-objects created on the principle of the readymade out of the remnants of industrial materials combined with fragments of colourful ornamental carpets.