He lost both parents at a young age and lived as a homeless child before being placed in an orphanage in Serdar (then known as Kyzyl-Arvat), where he was raised.
Later, he benefited from the guidance of exceptional teachers who recognized his talent and supported the young artist in his efforts to become a professional painter.
Mochalsky was a recipient of the highest honorary title in arts in the former Soviet Union—People’s Artist of the USSR—and was widely respected for his “ability to highlight the essential, while setting aside the extraneous details.” [3] He passed that approach on to many of his students, including Durdy Bayramov.
[4] In 1966, Bayramov married his beloved muse, Dunyagozel “Gozel” Ilyasova, who would be one of his most frequently painted subjects and remain an inspiration for his work throughout his life.
Bayramov’s first major artistic honours arrived when he was named winner of the Turkmen SSR Lenin Komsomol prize in 1970 and of the USSR in 1972.
His painting Frontline Assistance captured the deep patriotism of ordinary Turkmen women willing to sacrifice their most prized possessions to help soldiers.
This series contains portraits of individuals recognized by Bayramov as having made important contributions to Turkmen cultural heritage during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
In 1985, Bayramov began work on one of his most celebrated thematic compositions—his monumental tribute to the great Spanish artists of the past titled Golden Mist.
In 1998, Bayramov was appointed an Academician of the National Academy of Arts of Kyrgyzstan, along with fellow artists Suhrob Kurbanov, Tahir Salahov, Turgunbai Sadykov, and Erbolat Tolepbai.
In conjunction with the presentation of this award, Bayramov contributed works to the International Exhibition of the Academicians of Kyrgyzstan at the Academy of Arts in Bishkek.
In 2012, Bayramov spent six months in Canada where he created a well-known series of landscape paintings titled Canadian Autumn.
[15] The corresponding catalogue was published by the Durdy Bayramov Art Foundation in association with the Asian Cultural History Program of the Smithsonian Institution.
[16][17] In 2015, a solo exhibition of Durdy Bayramov’s works was held at the World Bank Art Program in Washington, DC, with the support of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in the US.
As early as 1975, it was noted that “although he paints genre pictures and landscapes, one could say that portraiture claims his special attention.” [20] Among his contemporaries, he was considered to be the “unsurpassed master of the portrait genre.”[21] Bayramov penetrated deep into the character and inner life of his subjects to reflect their diverse personalities on canvas, while emphasizing their best qualities.
Bayramov said he did this by “always looking for that special spark that exists within each person.” [22] He sought to harmonize the contextual discoveries of Impressionism, the attention to detail of Classical Realism, and Turkmenistan’s rich artistic traditions.
His subjects include a wide variety of individuals, from villagers to scientists, strangers to family members, children to seniors.
Having grown up an orphan, Durdy Bayramov was a passionate advocate for young and aspiring artists, often purchasing art supplies for those that could not afford them.
The Foundation has also collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Cultural History Program, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Washington, D.C., and the Textile Museum of Canada in carrying out lectures on Turkmen art, the history and cultural heritage of Turkmenistan, and Durdy Bayramov’s life and significance in the art world.
[25][26] The corresponding exhibition catalogue was published by the Durdy Bayramov Art Foundation in association with the Asian Cultural History Program, Smithsonian Institution.