336 - Aidan Salahova, Azerbaijani (B. 1964- )

Aidan Salahova, Azerbaijani (B. 1964- ) Architecture of Memory, 2024; Silk, wool and pile-weave Density: 43 x 43 cm Aidan Salahova (b. 1964, Moscow) is an internationally acclaimed Azerbaijani contemporary artist working across painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. A graduate of the Moscow State Surikov Institute of Fine Arts (1987), she has served as a professor at the institute since 2002 and was elected an Academician of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. In 1992, she founded the influential Aidan Gallery in Moscow, which became one of the leading private galleries dedicated to contemporary art in post-Soviet Russia, playing a significant role in promoting conceptual emerging artists on and the international stage. Over the course of more than three decades, Salahova has established herself as one of the most significant figures in contemporary art through an extensive international exhibition history. Since 1990, she has presented over thirty solo exhibitions in cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg, New York, Berlin, Paris, London, Dubai, Stockholm, Barcelona, and Baku, while participating in major international biennales and art fairs, most notably the Venice Biennale in 1991 and 2011. Salahova's works are represented in prestigious public and private collections worldwide, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the François Pinault Foundation, the Boghossian Foundation, the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, and the Teutloff Museum, among others. Combining her Azerbaijani heritage with an international artistic perspective, she has become one of the leading voices in contemporary art, recognized for her powerful exploration of gender, identity, spirituality, and the cultural dialogue between East and West. Her artistic practice explores the relationship between gender, identity, faith, and power through painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Rooted in her Azerbaijani heritage and shaped by both Eastern Islamic and Western cultural traditions, her work examines the tensions between visibility and concealment, tradition and modernity. Through symbolism and metaphor, Salahova reveals the psychological and social structures that shape the female experience. Veiled female figures, draped forms, Persian miniatures, and recurring symbols such as the minaret and water become visual metaphors for spirituality, femininity, and cultural identity. Balancing beauty with ambiguity, her works invite multiple interpretations while challenging established social conventions. By merging Eastern iconography with contemporary conceptual art, Salahova creates visually powerful works that reflect on identity, dignity, and the universal search for self-expression. Import Duty Charged on the Hammer Price