Born in Dagestan and a resident of Moscow since 1977, Aladdin Garunov has been called by art critics "the Moslem Beuys". He calls himself a man of the world and focuses in his works on the contraposition of two models for civilization - the technologically developed West versus the traditional patriarchal East. Garunov is concerned about issues of national and religious identity, globalization, which is posing a threat to it, and the fate of nations and cultures of long standing. The artist prefers the practice of contemporary art yet keeps within the confines of the ethical and religious Moslem tradition, stressing the importance of one's national identity and employing strategies and media typical of the modern age. Aladdin Garunov is a two-time finalist for the Kandinsky Award - with his projects "Zikr" (2010) and "Total Prayer" (2012); in April 2014, the latter garnered him the Kuryokhin Award for Best Work of Visual Art. Works by Garunov are part of collections of the State Russian Museum (Saint Petersburg, Russia), the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, Russia), the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Moscow, Russia), the Kolodzei Art Foundation (New Jersey, USA ), as well as other Russian and foreign museum and private collections.
Aladdin Garunov is a versatile master who works in a variety of arts: sculpture, painting, and photography. He puts together objects and installations, makes videos, and combines works of different genres into multidimensional projects, which arouse the interest of the viewers, the art community, and critics alike. In his oeuvre, Garunov combines the practices of avant-garde and minimalism with the classic approach to painting, pioneer work with materials (primarily, industrial rubber) with invoking the sacral traditions of mankind and, above all, Islam.
Aladdin Garunov has had multiple solo and group exhibitions in some of the most prestigious venues for contemporary art including: III Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Aidan Gallery, (Moscow, Russia); ART DUBAI, Aidan Gallery stand, (Dubai, United Arab Emirates); the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia); the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, (Moscow, Russia); International Art Fair Cornice, (Venice, Italy); the State Decorative Art Museum, (Moscow, Russia) the State Historical Art Museum, (Sergiev Posad, Russia), and has recently showed his work during ARTPALMBEACH at the GALLERY SHCHUKIN stand, (West Palm Beach, FL, USA).ART DUBAI, one-man-show, Aidan Gallery stand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
ART MOSCOW, Aidan Gallery stand, Moscow, Russia.
Project “Zikr-2”, Aidan Gallery, Moscow.
II Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art.
Project “Zikr”, Moscow Museum of Architecture named after Shchusev (MUAR), wing “Ruins”.
“100 % Black Square”, gallery POP/OFF/ART, Moscow, Russia.
ART MOSCOW, gallery POP/OFF/ART stand, Moscow, Russia.
“SELF”, gallery POP/OFF/ART, II Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art.
International Art Fair Cornice, Venice, Italy.
ART-ATHENS,gallery POP/OFF/ART stand, Athens, Greece.
ART MOSCOW, Moscow, Russia.
“World of war”, State Decorative Art Museum, Moscow, Russia.
“ART Constitution”, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia.
“Objects and things”, State Decorative Art Museum, Moscow, Russia.
“Moscow Abstraction. Second half of XX century”, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
Gallery “Moscow Fine Art”, Moscow, Russia.
Association of artists International Competition “Artistes a la Bastille”, Paris, France.