Baku Museum of Modern Art
Encyclopedia
Baku Museum of Modern Art is a museum of modern art
located in Baku
, Azerbaijan
.
of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva
and opened on 20 March 2009. It was funded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation
, of which the First Lady is head. The foundation has also created projects with the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles
. The museum is intended as a focus for an "eco-cultural zone" conceived of by Thomas Krens
, former director of the Guggenheim Foundation
, that will also include a white-sand beach, a Frank Gehry
skyscraper, and a walkway that projects out over the Caspian Sea
.
The museum does not have fixed subject areas. The architectural concept of the museum avoids halls with corners and has open passages and walls that meet at different angles, creating a multidimensional perspective of exhibits. Conspicuous metallic structures and the use of the color white unite all parts into a single "moving abstract structure." The chief designer of the museum is the artist Altay Sadikh-zadeh; the architect of the building is Jean Nouvel
, who has designed dozens of buildings throughout Europe.
, Pablo Picasso
, and Marc Chagall
from private collectors.
Exhibitions of Azerbaijani photographers such as Elnur Babayev, Fakhriya Mammadova, Ilkin Huseynov, Rena Efendi, Sergei Khrustalev, Sitara Ibrahimova, Tahmina Mammadova are often held in the museum.
The museum includes a children's fine arts department, a video hall, a cafe, a restaurant, a separate hall for private exhibitions, a library, and a bookstore with materials pertaining to world art, architecture and sculpture.
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
located in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
.
History
The museum was built at the initiative of the First LadyFirst Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva
Mehriban Aliyeva
Mehriban Arif qizi Aliyeva is the head of Azerbaijan's Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the wife of its current president Ilham Aliyev. The Sunday Times, writing in 2005 about Mrs...
and opened on 20 March 2009. It was funded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation
Heydar Aliyev Foundation
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation is a charitable foundation headed by Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. The foundation is named in honor of Azerbaijan's former leader, the late Heydar Aliyev, who was the father of Aliyeva's husband, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.- History :Heydar...
, of which the First Lady is head. The foundation has also created projects with the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. The museum is intended as a focus for an "eco-cultural zone" conceived of by Thomas Krens
Thomas Krens
Thomas Krens is the former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York City, and currently the Guggenheim's Senior Advisor for International Affairs, overseeing the completion of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi...
, former director of the Guggenheim Foundation
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1937 by philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and artist Hilla von Rebay. The first museum established by the foundation was the "Museum of Non-Objective Art", which was housed in rented space on Park Avenue in New York....
, that will also include a white-sand beach, a Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
skyscraper, and a walkway that projects out over the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
.
The museum does not have fixed subject areas. The architectural concept of the museum avoids halls with corners and has open passages and walls that meet at different angles, creating a multidimensional perspective of exhibits. Conspicuous metallic structures and the use of the color white unite all parts into a single "moving abstract structure." The chief designer of the museum is the artist Altay Sadikh-zadeh; the architect of the building is Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l'Architecture...
, who has designed dozens of buildings throughout Europe.
Displays
The museum focuses on the second half of the twentieth century and contains over 800 works by notable Azerbaijani painters and sculptors, particularly avant garde art of the 1960s and 1970s, including Rasim Babayev, Ashraf Murad, Gennady Brejatjuk, Fazil Najafov, Mamed Mustafaev, Aga Houssejnov, Ali Ibadullaev, Mir-Nadir Zeynalov, Fuad Salayev, Farhad Halilov, Darvin Velibekov, Eldar Mammadov, Mikail Abdurahmanov, Museib Amirov, Mahmud Rustamov, Huseyn Hagverdi, Eliyar Alimirzayev, Rashad Babayev and Altay Sadikh-zadeh. There are also non-Azerbaijani modern masterworks by Salvador DaliSalvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, and Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
from private collectors.
Exhibitions of Azerbaijani photographers such as Elnur Babayev, Fakhriya Mammadova, Ilkin Huseynov, Rena Efendi, Sergei Khrustalev, Sitara Ibrahimova, Tahmina Mammadova are often held in the museum.
The museum includes a children's fine arts department, a video hall, a cafe, a restaurant, a separate hall for private exhibitions, a library, and a bookstore with materials pertaining to world art, architecture and sculpture.
See also
- Azerbaijan State Museum of ArtAzerbaijan State Museum of ArtRustam Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art is the biggest art museum of Azerbaijan. It was founded in 1936 in Baku and in 1943 was named after Rustam Mustafayev, a prominent Azeri scenic designer and theater artist. The museum consists of two buildings standing next to each other...
- Azerbaijan State Carpet Museum
- Azerbaijan State Museum of HistoryAzerbaijan State Museum of HistoryAzerbaijan State Museum of History is the largest museum of Azerbaijan, located in Baku, in the former mansion of Azerbaijani oil magnate and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. It was founded in 1920.- History :...
- Shusha Museum of HistoryShusha Museum of HistoryShusha Museum of History is one of 8 museums located in Shusha, Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was founded in 1969 and contained up to 5,000 exhibits. The museum was shut down due to the Armenian occupation of Shusha on May 8, 1992....