Traiettorie di anime nomadiche. Una lettura della mostra “Uzbekistan, l’Avanguardia nel deserto” (Venezia-Firenze 16 aprile – 8 settembre 2024)

This article explores the innovative trajectory outlined by the exhibition Uzbekistan: Avant-Garde in the Desert, recently held at Ca' Foscari in Venice and Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The exhibition offers a journey through the real and imagined landscapes of early 20th-century Turkestan, weaving together geographical, artistic, historical, and political narratives. Focusing on Soviet Turkestan in the 1920s and 1930s, the exhibition highlights the diverse artistic practices emerging from what are now Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. It traces the intersection of nomadic traditions and settled cultures, illustrating a dynamic dialogue between Bolshevism and the enduring influence of nomadic life. Through this lens, the exhibition explores how European modernism and local traditions converged, giving rise to an avant-garde movement shaped by both historical rupture and cultural continuity. The exhibition also addresses the theme of travel as a transformative intellectual and artistic journey, emphasizing the tension between nomadic and sedentary cultures in post-Revolutionary Turkestan. Drawing on Eric J. Leed’s concept of “traveling societies” it demonstrates how artists from both Russia and Central Asia engaged with the region’s “primordial” space, navigating Eastern and Western influences. This journey transcends geography, becoming an intellectual passage that reshapes visual languages by blending nomadic fluidity with modernist experimentation in a dynamic, evolving discourse. Central to the exhibition is Aleksandr Nikolaevič Volkov, whose work bridges Central Asian traditions and European post-impressionism. His influence on artists such as Tansykbaev and Karachan highlights the fusion of European modernism with local traditions, reflecting a unique cultural exchange in Central Asian modern art. During its period as the capital of the Uzbek SSR (1925–1930), Samarkand became a pivotal center for artists merging Central Asian traditions with European avant-garde influences. Figures such as Iusupov, Ufimcev, Kurzin, and Korovaj navigated this cultural crossroads, combining Islamic, Russian, and modernist aesthetics with local landscapes and customs. Ben’kov and Tatevosjan further enriched this dialogue by blending European techniques with the vivid light and symbolism of Central Asia, contributing to the formation of a distinctive artistic landscape that integrated diverse cultural legacies. The exhibition also features Igor’ Savickij’s curatorial vision at the State Museum of Arts in Nukus, where his collection of over 80,000 works illuminates often-overlooked figures, promoting pluralism and cultural memory. Among these is Aleksandr Nikolaev (Usto Mumin), who rejected Soviet ideology in favor of Islamic mysticism, embodying the tension between socialist modernity and spiritual traditions. Concluding the article is the inclusion of the Amaravella group, a multi-ethnic collective active between 1923 and 1928. Led by figures such as Petr Fateev and Vera Pšeseckaja, the group fused mysticism, science, and Marxist thought, challenging conventional boundaries between art, ideology, and spirituality.