A thousand angels
Every artist has a muse to whom they turn in search of inspiration. For Uzbek artist, Lekim Ibragimov, heavenly angels are an inspiration.
Text by Sabina Odinaeva
Lekim Ibragimov is a world-renowned artist, poet and writer. He is the People's Artist of Uzbekistan, an academic at the Academy of Arts of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Ibragimov's work combines painting, drawing and calligraphy. His works are a harmonic combination of Central Asian and Western cultural heritages, modernism and poetic symbolism, and traditional classical and abstract-surrealistic styles. Ibragimov's speciality is that he depicts angels in almost every work, and each time in a different way.
“I love Central Asia very much,” says Ibragimov. “The way people dress beautifully with bright colours, the sun, and rich cultures – all this inspires me. When I visit the middle of the old city in the bazaars, I see thousands of characters – different people – and it inspires me. It is very beautiful.”
In 2000, Ibragimov had the idea for a painting based on the legendary One Thousand and One Nights folk tales. It took him ten years to develop the concept for the project, A Thousand Angels and One Painting, which launched in 2010. The project consists of a thousand separate canvases, each a complete picture depicting an angel. The whole mega-canvas measures over 500 square metres (eight metres high and 66 metres long). It was presented in Prague in 2012, in Moscow in 2013 (Gostiny Dvor) and in Tashkent in 2014. At the Moscow exhibition, InterRecord gave it two world records for ‘The largest painting in the world painted on oil on canvas by a single artist’ and ‘The largest number of angels in a single painting’.
“Everyone has a guardian angel and I, too, want to give my angels so that humanity can feel peace and quiet with them. This is what inspired me to paint A Thousand Angels and One Painting, which has been recognised as unique all over the world.”
Ibragimov has already achieved international fame, having held exhibitions in 45 cities around the world. He also recently become the first Uzbek to open his own gallery in the metaverse, where you can see all of his works, watch him paint and listen to an interview with him. Ibragimov’s paintings are also available as NFTs; a total of 12 pieces are available.
