Alexander Volkov-from cultural isolation to international recognition

The name of Alexander Volkov, one of the greatest representatives of the artistic avant-garde of Central Asia of the XX century, today occupies a central place in the largest museum expositions in Russia and Europe. However, this recognition has a long history — the path from total oblivion to museum and market rehabilitation. Uzbekistan plays a key role in the history of isolation, confrontation, preservation and restoration of Volkov's creative heritage.

In 2025, Volkov's name once again became a symbol of deep interest in Central Asian art. At the exhibition" Light between Worlds", held in Istra near Moscow, key works of the master from the collections of the Museum of Oriental Art and the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan are presented to a wide audience. The central place is occupied by a rare exhibit-a double-sided canvas "Face of Christ" and "Demon", made in the early period of creativity. Volkov's works from Nukus and New Jerusalem are presented for the first time in a single space. The spectacular "Pomegranate Teahouse", previously displayed in the capital's halls, appeared in a more organic exhibition context.

Contemporary interest in the artist has increased against the background of international projects. Exhibitions in Italy - " Uzbekistan: Avant-garde in the desert "in Venice and Florence, the Moscow exposition" Touched by the Sun", as well as extensive projects in major museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg reintroduce Volkov to the context of global art. His works are increasingly becoming part of cultural diplomacy and exhibition geopolitics, presenting Uzbekistan as a country with a rich avant-garde heritage.

The story of Volkov's recognition is not only an artistic, but also an institutional phenomenon. In the late 1940s, the artist was completely forgotten. Excluded from exhibitions and the artistic environment, he lived on a modest pension, being an object of tacit isolation. His salvation was his family. His wife Elena Semyonovna managed to save the house-workshop. The eldest son Valery, having entered the Faculty of Art History, began systematic work on legalizing his father's name in a professional environment. After the artist's death, his sons Alexander and Valery took on the task of building the museum's fate of Volkov's work. And they did it successfully.

Through their efforts, a well — thought-out strategy for placing works in museum collections was formed-not just transmitting them, but creating a holistic image of the artist through the selection of works from different periods. Already in 1967, Volkov had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Art, then participated in the international exhibition "Russian Art: from the Scythians to the present day" in Paris. By the early 1980s, the painting "Pomegranate Teahouse" was included in the exhibitions "Moscow-Paris"and" Paris — Moscow".

Interest in the artist grew outside the USSR. The acquaintance of the Volkov brothers with George Kostaki changed their attitude towards private collectors. In 2012, Volkov's first foreign solo exhibition was held in London, organized with the support of the Christie's auction house. Already in 2013, the painting "Children-musicians" set a price record at Bonhams auctions — more than two million pounds. The work was included in the collection of the future Orientalism Museum in Qatar.

To date, the market for Volkov's works continues to develop. Despite a certain lack of transparency in local pricing, international auction quotations serve as a guide for collectors. But interest in the artist is not limited to price alone — the scientific reinterpretation of his work comes to the fore.

The most promising direction of interpretation is the rejection of the cliche of "orientalism", which often accompanied the perception of Volkov as an exotic marginal. Today, he is increasingly regarded as a symbolist, an artist with a philosophical program. Contemporary curators, such as Nadezhda Plungyan, offer a new reading of his works through the prism of symbolic language and the transformation of Eastern imagery in the avant-garde.

Volkov's retrospective is not only an act of historical justice. This is a marker of the maturity of the region's cultural policy, recognition of Uzbekistan as a source of a unique artistic phenomenon that can compete on an equal footing with recognized centers of modernism. Rethinking Volkov's legacy is a contribution to the formation of Uzbekistan's cultural subjectivity in the global world.