Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA) will present Instruments of the Mind: Vyacheslav Akhunov at Palazzo Franchetti

The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA) presents Instruments of the Mind, a major solo exhibition by pioneering Uzbek conceptual artist Vyacheslav Akhunov. The exhibition is presented as an official collateral project of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia at Palazzo Franchetti.

Commissioned by Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), the exhibition spans more than five decades of Akhunov’s practice. It brings together painting, drawing, video and installation, including several works originally conceived in the 1970s and realised for the first time for this presentation after existing only as sketches for over 50 years.

Curated by Dr Sara Raza, Chief Curator and Artistic Director of the CCA Tashkent, the exhibition situates Akhunov’s work within broader global conversations around memory, repetition and spiritual reflection, while highlighting Central Asia’s contribution to contemporary art history.

Also looking to the power of repetition, Mantras (1974) features handwritten text layered over mass-produced images taken from Soviet magazines, newspapers, and books. The writing builds up line by line, gradually covering the printed pictures beneath and the text becomes harder to read, eventually merging into a dense surface of marks. This mirrors the repetition of a spoken mantra: over time, individual words lose clarity and turn into rhythm and sound. Meanwhile, The Slit (Light at the End of the Path) stages a passage through darkness toward an intense beam of light at its far end—an apparent exit – drawing on the familiar phrase “light at the end of the path.”

A founding figure of conceptualism in Central Asia, Akhunov has developed his career in Tashkent while contributing to international exhibitions for decades. As part of this milestone moment, the artist will donate his personal library to the CCA Tashkent, forming the institution’s first research archive focused on art history, world literature and Oriental studies.

This presentation marks a key milestone in the CCA Tashkent’s inaugural year, positioning the centre as a new platform for contemporary art from Uzbekistan on the global stage.