Text Alzhan Kusainova photo personal files of Yerbolat Tolepbai
Indistinct spots of colour fade into the distance like a heat haze, or a mirage in the desert. The gentle silhouettes of children, elongated faces of women and a blue, blue sky exist around and inside people and objects. Deep blue, azure and turquoise, the sky looks like an ocean splashed across the canvas. The works of Yerbolat Tolepbai are both seductive and empowering.
Yerbolat Tolepbai is remarkable in the artistic world of Kazakhstan. He has been awarded the title of laureate in every possible competition, has won prestigious international prizes and awards and is a member of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. He has exhibited in more than 50 countries, including Moscow’s famous Tretyakov Gallery; he is a member of the Academy of Arts in Russia, the Czech Republic and Kyrgyzstan.
You dedicated both your book and your exhibition in Astana to your mother…
“I grew up in South Kazakhstan and my mother was a well-known traditional healer who treated people with herbs. The sick came from all around to ask for her help, so my childhood home was like a clinic, always crowded with visitors. From a very young age I learnt to communicate with people; I would wake up in the morning and find the yard full of strangers hoping to be cured. My mother was not just a healer, she was also a wise woman and people had a great appreciation for her as a person. At home our table was always laid. My mother is my foundation. From her I learnt compassion, sympathy and empathy: when you hear stories of trouble, grief and suffering from morning till night this comes naturally. All my paintings depict women and children, often with inner dramas.
Are you a philosopher as well as an artist?
“I love watching life, the way people, with all their different fortunes, work to overcome hardship. What matters to me is to reflect, with accuracy, the feelings and emotional stress people
experience at these moments. An artist is responsible to his audience; art should erase life’s dead ends, not do the opposite. Who else can achieve this, but artists, musicians and writers? Art should not be gloomy, it should not suppress or misinform.
What is the global objective of art?
“To radiate love. To help the world, nature and all living creatures, this is the artist’s objective. I equate art with religion; art should have the highest aims and ambitions. Anything unrelated to faith is short-lived, only spiritual art lives forever. I transfer my perception of life, which has contradictions and contrasts but is always beautiful, onto canvas. Everything around us – mountains, steppes and even deserts – is fantastic. If anyone disagrees at this moment in time, they are sure to understand it in the last few minutes of their life. A human being often appreciates something only when they lose it. I did not really understand this when I was younger, but after the age of sixty we all go through a process of reevaluation. This is why I am trying to communicate this simple truth to young artists: be happy and appreciate the gifts you have been given by the Supreme Creator. Don’t speak in the heat of the moment, or accumulate evil inside, and don’t splash misfortune, insults or negative emotions onto canvas.
What are your books about?
“I could be a writer if I wasn’t a painter. I write in my free time. In my first book, I discuss the reasons why I paint. I understand that words have a subtle power and I want to avoid categorical statements. I don’t like it when authors impose their own opinions in such a way that they suppress their readers’. Every person should be able to draw their own conclusions. That’s why I try to give freedom to my reader, by giving him food for thought.
Is this reflected in your paintings?
“Yes. Western art critics note that my narrative style is very free. I transfer all my
concerns to canvas, but avoid cementing ideas there. I wish to avoid becoming a form of creative dictator.
By the way, a few words about the West. Why, for many years, did you only exhibit there?
“I had no exhibitions in Almaty for 22 years and during this time I exhibited abroad. I chose the West as the entire avant-garde of artistic thought was there, the best painting schools were there and I loved learning. I wanted to see the great canvases in real life and I achieved my dream by visiting as many museums and concert halls as possible. This is my spiritual food, and I am still feeding myself in this way.
How did you manage to organise so many exhibitions?
“You go where the road takes you. Everything falls into place if it goes well, with money and opportunities often appearing at the very last moment. I was about 20 years old when a wise philosopher told me: ‘Never think of money. Work, and your labours will take you to it’. All my life I worked hard, for fourteen hours a day, working for my inspiration rather than expecting it to come to me. Creative work is a process that never ends. It is a matter of pride for me that in my studio I currently have hundreds of works and none of them ‘smells of money’, I created them because I love art. People ask me if they are for sale and I tell them ‘no’. They ask me how long it takes me to finish a painting and I tell them: ‘from morning to night for years’. I am not a commercial artist; I don’t have arrangements with galleries. I don’t make paintings for any person other than myself. Human values are my orientation and I strive to make my paintings bring hope.”