SELECTED WORKS
Magomed Kazhlaev
Magomed Kazhlaev was born in 1946 in the village of Kazi-Kumukh in Dagestan. He livesand works in Moscow and Makhachkala. The future artist spent his childhood and youth inMakhachkala. Graduated from the Dagestan Art College in 1965 and the MoscowPolygraphic Institute in 1973 Solo exhibitions include "Blend" at the State Institute of ArtStudies (2019), "Letters of a Gentile" at the State Museum of Oriental Art (2019) and "TotalCalligraphy" at the Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts (1993). Works are in the collections of theTretyakov Gallery, the Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts, the State Museum of Oriental Art, theMoscow Museum of Modern Art, the State Center for Contemporary Art (now ROSIZO), theNew Jerusalem Museum, the Marjani Foundation, the Museum of Nonconformism, andothers.
About the artist
The works of Magomed Kazhlaev are built upon a unique system of perception, where each artistic statement is self-contained and exists autonomously. The artist combines archaic motifs with contemporary ones, focusing on nonlinear imagery and verbal paradoxes. National tradition plays a significant role in Kazhlaev’s art, emphasized by the folk plasticity of Dagestan and its distinct, vibrant chromatic resonance.
Magomed Kazhlaev began creating what are conventionally referred to as abstract paintings over fifty years ago, in 1970 Over time, his work has undergone repeated transformations: “landscapes” gave way to untitled compositions, bright expressive splashes of contrasting
colors yielded to the solo performance of gray, delicate glazes were replaced by dense, smooth surfaces, and monochromes were interrupted by lines or the signature “K.M.” — as if marking a full stop on a canvas devoid of any imagery. A Dagestani artist deeply rooted in national culture, Kazhlaev coexists with a painter par excellence for whom paint is the sole material for creating a world unbound by borders or
traditions. The harmony of a uniform green is disrupted by the presence of a “red corner” left “by mistake,” the “caressing” of the canvas with light brushstrokes gives way to childlike squares in which one discerns a futile attempt to close the outline of a shape. Some works
are literally built from numerous layers of paint-laden paper, resembling compressed cultural strata from different eras, accumulated in the same archaeological site. A canvas saturated with painterly mass may suddenly be invaded by a line that “slices through” the surface or
allow itself to be covered by a network of ornaments composed of repeating — yet uneven — ellipses, arcs, and squares. The handmade quality, the refusal to arrange elements into neat patterns, reveals the hand of a master far removed from the habit of weaving orderly
decorative designs.
“His painting is shaped by the cosmos of ornament, the suggestion of ‘field painting,’ the emphasis on painterly texture, the introduction of everyday context, artificialized expression, and an engagement with narrative,” — Leonid Bazhanov, text dedicated to the artist Magomed Kazhlaev.
“The oeuvre of a master who stands as one of the most astonishing and elusive figures in art, positioned somewhere between ‘intuitive’ abstraction and an unfiltered, direct response to both tradition and contemporaneity,” — Anna Tolstova, from the article “Painting Without Rules.”
Education:
1973 – Moscow Polygraphic Institute
1965 – Dagestan Art College
Solo Exhibitions:
2025 “Inventory”. SISTEMA GALLERY, Moscow
2024 "Monochrome". Totibadze Gallery, Moscow
2023 “Magomed Kazhlaev”. LiCHT GALLERY, Tbilisi, Georgia
2019 "Blend". State Institute of Art Studies, Moscow
2019 "Genre Search". House of Poetry, Makhachkala, Russia
2017 Solo exhibition in Leonid Bazhanov's workshop, Moscow
2017 "Letters of a Gentile". The State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow
2017 "Dotted line". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2014 "Another sport". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2010 "Raznotravye". A-3 Gallery, Moscow
2009 "Waiting". Museum of the City, Makhachkala, Russia
2005 "Columbarium". First Gallery, Makhachkala, Russia
2004 "An attempt at ornament-2". Murtuz Gallery, Moscow
1999 "An attempt at ornament". Dom Cultural Center, Moscow
1993 "Total calligraphy". Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts, Makhachkala, Russia
1974 3-day exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists, Makhachkala, Russia
Group Exhibitions:
2025 "Not together, not separately". House of Culture "GES-2", Moscow
2019 "Transformatio" Contemporary art of Dagestan. Museum of Modern Art, Kazan, Russia
2018 "Transformatio" Contemporary art of Dagestan. Erarta Museum of Modern Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2017 Kovcheg Gallery, Moscow
2015 "What does it mean". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2015 "The possibility of flight". The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2014 "Buffoonery". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2014 "500 meters freestyle". Museum of the City, Makhachkala, Russia
2013 "Ideal territory". North Caucasus Branch of the State Center for Contemporary Art, Vladikavkaz, Russia
2012 "Peaks in the palms of the sky" Vladikavkaz-Moscow. Central House of Artists, Moscow
2012 «METAGEO». Malevich's Aura and Russian art. N. Brykina Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
2012 "Caucasian Dictionary". Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve, Moscow
2011 "The Apology of space". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2011 "Glory to labor". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2010 "Codex". An exhibition dedicated to E. Puterbrot. Museum of the City, Makhachkala, Russia
2010 "Homage". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2010 "Visual and speculative". The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2010 "Memory". An exhibition dedicated to E. Puterbrot. Theater "School of Dramatic Art", Moscow
2009 "Heavenly affairs". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2009 "Alanika". Central House of Artists, Moscow
2008 "20 years of the gallery". Anniversary exhibition. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2007 "Novruz". Moscow House of Nationalities, Moscow
2007 "New in the collection". The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2006 "Peace to the Caucasus". Maly Manege, Moscow
2006 "The Impossible Connection". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2006 «Caucasus». The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2004 "Peace to the Caucasus". Maly Manege, Moscow
2002 "Caution-religion". Sakharov Center, Moscow
2001 Exhibition and presentation of the album "Circle". Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts, Makhachkala, Russia
2000 "International Art Salon "Central House of Artists-2000". Central House of Artists, Moscow
1999 "Dagestan avant-garde". Baku, Azerbaijan
1998 "Contemporary art of the North Caucasus". Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow
1996 "Caucasian Diary". A-3 Gallery, Moscow
1994 "Contraception". Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists, Makhachkala, Russia
1993 "Art-Myth-3". Central Exhibition Hall "Manege", Moscow
1993 "Moscow apartment". A-3 Gallery, Moscow
1990 "Art-Myth-2". Central Exhibition Hall "Manege", Moscow
1990 "All-Russian Exhibition of Theater, Film and Television artists". Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists, Makhachkala, Russia
1987 "All-Union Exhibition of Theater, Film and Television artists". Central House of Artists, Moscow
1987 "Exhibition presentation of the Hermitage Association". Belyaevo Hall, Moscow
1987 "Artists of the Dagestan Theater". Palace of Art Workers, Leningrad, Russia
1987 Joint Committee of Graphic Artists on Malaya Gruzinskaya. Spring exhibitions, Moscow
1982 "Theatrical artists of Dagestan". The Central House of the Actor, Moscow
1974 "Exhibition of unofficial art in 6 apartments", "Project of the All-Union exhibition". Apartment Mikhail Odnoralov, Moscow
Fairs, biennales and festivals:
2019 Aluminum Biennale. Baku, Azerbaijan
2006 Contemporary Art Festival in Ganja, Azerbaijan
2025 “Inventory”. SISTEMA GALLERY, Moscow
2024 "Monochrome". Totibadze Gallery, Moscow
2023 “Magomed Kazhlaev”. LiCHT GALLERY, Tbilisi, Georgia
2019 "Blend". State Institute of Art Studies, Moscow
2019 "Genre Search". House of Poetry, Makhachkala, Russia
2017 Solo exhibition in Leonid Bazhanov's workshop, Moscow
2017 "Letters of a Gentile". The State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow
2017 "Dotted line". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2014 "Another sport". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2010 "Raznotravye". A-3 Gallery, Moscow
2009 "Waiting". Museum of the City, Makhachkala, Russia
2005 "Columbarium". First Gallery, Makhachkala, Russia
2004 "An attempt at ornament-2". Murtuz Gallery, Moscow
1999 "An attempt at ornament". Dom Cultural Center, Moscow
1993 "Total calligraphy". Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts, Makhachkala, Russia
1974 3-day exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists, Makhachkala, Russia
Group Exhibitions:
2025 "Not together, not separately". House of Culture "GES-2", Moscow
2019 "Transformatio" Contemporary art of Dagestan. Museum of Modern Art, Kazan, Russia
2018 "Transformatio" Contemporary art of Dagestan. Erarta Museum of Modern Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2017 Kovcheg Gallery, Moscow
2015 "What does it mean". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2015 "The possibility of flight". The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2014 "Buffoonery". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2014 "500 meters freestyle". Museum of the City, Makhachkala, Russia
2013 "Ideal territory". North Caucasus Branch of the State Center for Contemporary Art, Vladikavkaz, Russia
2012 "Peaks in the palms of the sky" Vladikavkaz-Moscow. Central House of Artists, Moscow
2012 «METAGEO». Malevich's Aura and Russian art. N. Brykina Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
2012 "Caucasian Dictionary". Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve, Moscow
2011 "The Apology of space". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2011 "Glory to labor". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2010 "Codex". An exhibition dedicated to E. Puterbrot. Museum of the City, Makhachkala, Russia
2010 "Homage". Session of Moscow artists. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2010 "Visual and speculative". The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2010 "Memory". An exhibition dedicated to E. Puterbrot. Theater "School of Dramatic Art", Moscow
2009 "Heavenly affairs". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2009 "Alanika". Central House of Artists, Moscow
2008 "20 years of the gallery". Anniversary exhibition. Gallery A-3, Moscow
2007 "Novruz". Moscow House of Nationalities, Moscow
2007 "New in the collection". The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2006 "Peace to the Caucasus". Maly Manege, Moscow
2006 "The Impossible Connection". Gallery A-3, Moscow
2006 «Caucasus». The State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2004 "Peace to the Caucasus". Maly Manege, Moscow
2002 "Caution-religion". Sakharov Center, Moscow
2001 Exhibition and presentation of the album "Circle". Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts, Makhachkala, Russia
2000 "International Art Salon "Central House of Artists-2000". Central House of Artists, Moscow
1999 "Dagestan avant-garde". Baku, Azerbaijan
1998 "Contemporary art of the North Caucasus". Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow
1996 "Caucasian Diary". A-3 Gallery, Moscow
1994 "Contraception". Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists, Makhachkala, Russia
1993 "Art-Myth-3". Central Exhibition Hall "Manege", Moscow
1993 "Moscow apartment". A-3 Gallery, Moscow
1990 "Art-Myth-2". Central Exhibition Hall "Manege", Moscow
1990 "All-Russian Exhibition of Theater, Film and Television artists". Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists, Makhachkala, Russia
1987 "All-Union Exhibition of Theater, Film and Television artists". Central House of Artists, Moscow
1987 "Exhibition presentation of the Hermitage Association". Belyaevo Hall, Moscow
1987 "Artists of the Dagestan Theater". Palace of Art Workers, Leningrad, Russia
1987 Joint Committee of Graphic Artists on Malaya Gruzinskaya. Spring exhibitions, Moscow
1982 "Theatrical artists of Dagestan". The Central House of the Actor, Moscow
1974 "Exhibition of unofficial art in 6 apartments", "Project of the All-Union exhibition". Apartment Mikhail Odnoralov, Moscow
Fairs, biennales and festivals:
2019 Aluminum Biennale. Baku, Azerbaijan
2006 Contemporary Art Festival in Ganja, Azerbaijan
