11.2 Artists in the Loft - Namig Mammadov, Artist of Ethereal Dreams and Music by Namig Mammadov

Summer 2003 (11.2)
Pages 22-24

Artists in the Loft
Namig Mammadov, Artist of Ethereal Dreams and Music
by Namig Mammadov

For more works by Namig Mammadov - AZgallery.org
Mobile in Baku: (994-50) 327-09-62

Click on photos to enlarge

I grew up in the beautiful, picturesque, old city of Ganja in central Azerbaijan. To me, it represents Eastern beauty and warmth. We had a house with a little yard, where there were beautiful flowers and trees, a pool and a small fountain.

Our family was large. My father was a civil engineer and a former officer who demanded discipline in everything. It was my mother who instilled within us the love for beautiful things. From early youth, we read, we drew sketches and were involved in designing our house together. My mother never tired of showing us and explaining how to do these things.

Mom loved to do landscaping. She would choose where to put everything in the yard. Of course, during those times, people didn't use the word "design" or "landscaping". But my mother would make sketches and my father would carry them out. And me, I was always drawing pictures.

In the second floor of our house, there was an attic where they built a studio for me. I loved to sit there until late in the evening. The room opened on to a balcony which had a view of the yard. I didn't like noisy kid games that much; I preferred to sit with pencils and paints in the yard, or in my room - my little "studio". I still have many of the drawings that I did as a kid. I no longer live in that house, nor in Ganja, but as my father still lives there, we go there together now with my family. My own children like to go upstairs to my "childhood studio" and explore.

Later, I joined a "Drawing Circle". I had an old teacher who was extremely attentive to me. And thus, he succeeded in opening up a whole new world for me - a world of art.

And then came Baku with its sea, invisible horizons, its fusion of European and Eastern art, the extraordinary architectural brilliance of Shirvanshah Palace, the Maiden's Tower and the Palace of Happiness (Wedding Palace).

I continued my art education at the Technical School of Art which was the beginning of professional school for me.

The next stage was education in Vilnius, Lithuania, where I attended the Art Institute and was exposed to the paintings of different nations and traditions. Then came my introduction to classical European art - St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tallinn, Estonia and Riga, Latvia. New styles of art, new discoveries, drawings, paintings, exhibitions, and museums, searching and tireless study of the technique of painting strengthened my professionalism and developed my tastes.

Then came the transition period to creative work. It's hard to say exactly when it happened. Nobody can answer the question as to when craft turns into creative work.

So, this way, by living, painting, studying and making comparisons, I became who I am now. The profession of a painter is one of great responsibility. Only time will tell if you truly succeed. One thing is certain; it takes a lifetime to achieve.

My works are characterized by the Eastern love of color, the sun and expression. All these are based on love. There is no life without love; nor is there life without painting But the most consuming thing in life is love for God, family, and one's beloved woman and children, and love for art and teachers. This is what I try to express in my paintings. Without art, it is not possible to live, breath and create.

Contact Namig Mammadov in Baku: The Loft, Istiglaliyyat (Parliament) Avenue across the street from Baku Soviet Metro Station, Block 500, 6th Floor, No. 3. Be sure to telephone. Tel: Home (994-12) 38-87-92. Mobile: (994-50) 327-09-62, Email: namik_mammadov@yahoo.com