Javlon Umarbekov

Javlon Umarbekov is a talented artist. Having achieved creative maturity, the painter continues to work on new fine art pieces during the independence era, creating large-scale monumental canvases.

The talented artist Javlon Umarbekov was born in 1946 in Tashkent. From 1961 to 1966, he studied at the P. P. Benkov Republican Art College, and from 1966 to 1972, he studied at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), starting his creative career very early, in 1965.

That same year, he participated in the First Republican Youth Exhibition with the canvas «Harvest».

In 1972, he participated in the exhibition of artists from the Central Asian and Kazakh republics held in Moscow.

He was accepted as a member of the Uzbekistan Artists' Union when he began working as the chief artist at the A. Navoi Literature Museum in 1972. From 1974, he taught at the Tashkent Institute of Theatre and Fine Arts.

From 1976, he worked as a member of the presidium of the Uzbekistan Artists' Union and as the head of the painting department.

In 1977, J. Umarbekov participated in an artists' plein air in the Polish city of Zelenagura and became a laureate of the All-Union Youth Prize for the canvases «Great Water», «Past—Childhood», and «My Friend».

In 1978, his personal exhibition was displayed in Algeria (the city of Algiers), and he began creating the «Across Algeria» series of works; in 1979, he participated in a painting plein air in the city of Kutaisi, Georgia, and began creating the «Imperetiya» series of canvases.

In 1980, he participated in the All-Union Exhibition of Young Artists held in Tashkent, completing the canvas «Contemplative Man». In 1981, he made a creative trip to the Surkhandarya region and created the «Surkhandarya» series of works.

In 1982, he traveled to Issyk-Kul and created the «Issyk-Kul» series of works. In 1983, he participated in the International Artists' Creative Meeting held in the city of Kuopio (Finland); in 1985, at the 12th International Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow; in 1987, at the International Exhibition in the city of Wuppertal (Germany); and in 1988, at the International Exhibition in the city of Dusseldorf.

J. Umarbekov created the «30 Views of Tashkent» series, the monumental canvas «Navruz» dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of Tashkent, and the canvas «Sultan of Seven Climates» dedicated to the 660th anniversary of the Sahibkiran Amir Timur. Working on himself, creative exploration, participating with his works in major international exhibitions on a global scale, and creative trips to countries such as Germany, Yugoslavia, Austria, Kuwait, Turkey, and Japan became important factors in the artist reaching the peaks of creative maturity.

Beginning his career by drawing stylistically romantic and attractive paintings such as «Nava» and «Husayn Bayqara and Alisher Navoi in Childhood», and through searches aimed at understanding fundamental philosophical and moral values in his 1970s and 80s works, by the early 1990s, the artist unexpectedly began to «correct» his previous plastic ideals and meanings in his own unique way, abandoning the melancholy of celestial height in his works and focusing on exploring another aspect of the world of emotions.

He is a national creator with all his being; the spectrum of Uzbek national traditions and uniqueness is undoubtedly broad and rich. J. Umarbekov senses this—in his works, a wide range of moods, mental states, and symbolic emotional tonality characteristic of the nation's national character is visible.

In this exact sense, the emergence of an uplifting style in his early 90s works, the beginning of a period of freedom in creative expression, occurred simultaneously with a unique historical process—the Uzbek people gaining state independence. His work was formed by drawing on the rich cultural-historical traditions and vast artistic heritage of our people, and he drew strength from the wonderful, powerful experiences of world art.

Combining creative work with public and pedagogical activity, he served as the chairman of the board of the Uzbekistan Artists' Union in 1984.

His contribution to the development of fine arts in Uzbekistan was awarded with the titles «Honored Artist of Uzbekistan» (1982) and «People's Artist of Uzbekistan» (1989).

Having reached creative maturity, the artist worked on brand new fine art pieces during the independence days and created large monumental canvases.