Gulmaral Tattibaeva
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Gulmaral Tattibaeva is a young artist with an extensive creative background. Born in 1982 on the ‘Khmelnytsky’ farm in the Shcherbaktinsky district of the Pavlodar region, she graduated from the Kazakh National Academy of Arts, named after T. Zhurgenov in 2002, specialising in graphic design. She is a member of the Union of Artists of Kazakhstan and was part of the first art group in Astana called ‘KADMII QYZYL (Кадмий қызыл).
In 2020, by the decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, she was awarded the anniversary medal ‘25 Years to the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan’ and also received a medal for ‘Achievements in Design’ from the Eurasian Union of Designers. Moreover, she founded E15 Artspace, a contemporary art workshop focusing on inclusive education.
One of the distinctive features of Tattibaeva’s artistry is her emotional perception of the world, manifesting in her works through melancholic lyricism, philosophical contemplation, and subconscious intuition. She possesses a mastery of drawing and a natural sense of colour, allowing her to apply broad, succinct brush strokes that require almost no further detail. This improvisational style gives her works an internal freedom of artistic expression and a completeness of colour perception. Her canvases often present an impression of delicate painting technique and exquisite transitions between colours that reflect the beauty of Kazakh landscapes. In other pieces, bold contrasting strokes highlight emotional intensity and inner strength.
Tattibaeva's compositions involving 'chapan' coats, derived from Kazakh beliefs in benevolent contact magic, symbolise physical and symbolic protection from external negative energies. This interpretation of clothing elevates it not just as protective wear but as an interethnic symbol. The first version of her installation, representing a tent made from the clothing of Central Asian nomads, was showcased at ‘Astana.Art.Fest’ in Astana in 2017. Subsequently, a second version of this installation, featuring Turkic 'chapan', was displayed at Berlin Art Week in Germany in 2018, receiving positive feedback from the Western European audience.
