A contemporary Kazakhstani artist, member of the "MOST" Art Association (since the 1990s) and costume designer (late 1980s–1990s). His works include paintings, graphics, installations, and video art. Key methods in G. Madanov’s practice include collage, compilation, the language of mass culture, work with visual codes, symbolism, reflection, and layering. Key themes are the colonial past, memory, mass culture, cultural heritage, myth, everyday life, and cultural identity.
G. Madanov graduated from the Almaty College of Decorative and Applied Arts named after Oral Tansykbayev (1973–1977) and the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK, Moscow) (1978–1985). He was awarded the UNESCO Prize for achievements in art and became a laureate of the Youth Union of Kazakhstan Prize (1995). The artist frequently works in a duo with his wife, Zauresh Terekbay.
In his work, G. Madanov often turns to historical subjects. Together with Z. Terekbay, he explores collective historical memory, post-Soviet heritage, and its influence on the present, constructing installations out of television screens broadcasting propaganda rhetoric and referencing the myth of linguistic diversity ("The Tower of Babel", 1997). The duo addresses themes of colonialism and historical trauma in Central Asia ("Defragmentation of History", 2011). They also reflect on Kazakhstan’s multifaceted cultural experience through large-scale collages combining magazine cut-outs, medieval miniatures, and photographs of modern Almaty ("Cool Age", 2013–2018).
G. Madanov’s works were exhibited in Kazakhstan and abroad: "Zhiger. Exhibition of Young Artists" (Fine Arts and Technical Design School named after A. Kasteyev, Almaty, 1990); solo exhibition (U.S. Embassy, Almaty, 1992); "Reflections of Silence" (Fine Arts and Technical Design School named after A. Kasteyev, Almaty, 1994); "The Tower of Babel" ("MOST" Gallery, Almaty, 1997); "Self-Identification: Futurological Forecasts" ("Moskva" Shop, Almaty, 1998); "Sari-Arka. Contemporary Art from the Kazakh Steppes" (Charles Sumner School Museum, Washington, 1998); "Off the Silk Road: No Mad’s Land" (Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2002); "Tengri-Umai" International Art Festival (Almaty, 2002); the 55th Venice Biennale (Venice, 2011); "The Bride’s Face" ("PERMM" Museum of Contemporary Art, Perm, 2012); and "The Sun and Neons over Kazakhstan" ("YARAT" Contemporary Art Space, Baku, 2017).
Information about G. Madanov is stored in the Documentation project collection — the archive of the Soros Center for Contemporary Art – Almaty (SCCA).
Photograph provided by Galym Madanov