In memory of the artist
Painter and teacher
1962 2023
A Kazakhstani painter and teacher — paintings, portraits and landscapes carrying the spirit and memory of the Kazakh steppe. More than forty years in painting and nearly thirty in teaching.
More than forty years of painting and nearly thirty of teaching. His biography, path and legacy.
Ali Baktygereev was born on 15 April 1962 in the village of Kulandy on the shores of the Aral Sea, in the Aral district of the Kyzylorda region. He spent his childhood there and studied at the Kulandy eight-year school, where he first showed a gift for art — as a boy he collected chalk stone with his uncle and carved it into small sculptures.
He began his working life as a young teacher at a school in the village of Bozoy (Shalkar district, Aktobe region) from 1980 to 1984, then went on to formal art training: first at the Almaty art school named after N. Gogol (1984–1989), then at the Zhurgenov Almaty State Theatre and Art Institute (1989–1994). As a student he witnessed the December 1986 events in Almaty.
Legacy
He is remembered as a veteran of the cultural front who left behind not just a gallery of images, but a whole world carrying the spirit, secrets and wisdom of the steppe.
