The Kyrgyz artist Chingiz Aidarov died on December 15. The Central Asian art community is deeply saddened by his passing.
Born in Bishkek, Kygyzstan in 1984, Chingiz Aidarov studied at ArtEast and became a member of the art groups Zhonele emes, 705, and Zamanbap art. His collective and individual work – spanning performance, painting, illustration, and video – issued biting and satirical takes on the sociopolitical situation in Kygyzstan as well as the experience of migrant workers abroad. He developed a performance practice called ‘nabeg’ comprising incursions or ‘invasions’ in public space.
Aidarov’s work has been presented at AUCA, Bishkek (2015); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2021); Goethe-Institut, Tokyo (2021); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2022); and other institutions. His pieces are in various international collections including the Almaty Museum of Arts in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Aidarov suffered a stroke in 2022, and during his rehabilitation, he worked as part of Zamanbap art. Earlier this year, ArtReview profiled the group.
