Kufaev, Igor Suleymanovich

Formation years

Igor Kufaev was born in the capital of Uzbekistan , Tashkent . Since childhood, he had many episodes related to the awakening of the Kundalini energy. In his early youth, he attended the private art studio of Shamil Rakhimov, a painter and master of oriental wrestling, an unofficial meeting place for liberal-minded thinkers, poets and artists. The tragic death of his mentor led young Igor to the decision to devote his life to art. Kufaev completed formal education at the Republican Art College named after P.P. Benkova, in Tashkent, where he mastered the skills of classical fine art. At the end, he was drafted into the army and after two years of service in the Turkestan Military District, he resumed his education at the TTHI them. Ostrovsky, State Institute of Arts of Uzbekistan , at the Faculty of Monumental Painting. In 1988, Igor was admitted to the second year at the Academy of Fine Arts (Repin Leningrad Institute), now the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts . Regardless of the official program of the academy, Igor studied and copied the masterpieces of Western European art, especially the Flemish school ^[1] , working directly at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg .

Creative process

In early 1990, Igor left the Academy and immigrated to Warsaw , Poland . With the relocation, the period of the formation of independent thinking of the artist began. Consciously reacting to the general picture of 20th century art and improvising, Kufaev created a series of works consisting of several cycles. A meeting with art critic Andrzej Matynia led to the first solo exhibition entitled The Eternal Compromise ^[2] , in Galeria Monetti , Warsaw. Other suggestions for working with galleries followed. Kufaev was invited to participate in the Meeting of the Holy Images , at the Warsaw Museum of Ethnography, with the triptych of Compromise ^[3] , where such icons as the Czestochow icon of the Mother of God and Virgin Mary of Guadalupe were presented along with the works of modern masters like Christian Boltansky .

In 1991, he moved to London and in 1996 accepted British citizenship. A solo exhibition in 1994, under the title Burnt Earth ^{[4] [5]} , on Cork Street was the starting point of his career, in a short time Kufaev managed to establish himself as a successful artist and he opened his workshop in London in 1994 where he regularly arranged private opening days of his works ^[6] . Interest in Sacred Geometry led to a series of works by Zauber ( Magic ) ^[7] , a series of Three Graces and Lovers ^[8] created between 1995 and 2001. As well as the Millenium Monument ^[9] an unrealized project for the 2000th anniversary in collaboration with architect Peter Ailee.

During this period, he traveled a lot to the cultural centers of Europe, and also spent a long time in France and Italy where he worked on his pictorial projects. Despite indisputable success, Kufaev was deeply disappointed with the state of visual culture in general and the prevailing trends in conceptual art in particular. In an interview with Zinovy ​​Zinik for the BBC Russian Service, Igor expressed his thoughts regarding visual culture.

Internal Transformation

An early interest in spirituality led Igor to Yoga with initiation into the Transcendental Meditation founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . Kufaev immersed himself in the study of various spiritual traditions, especially Indian philosophy , Sufism and Zen . In 2001, he returned to Uzbekistan to study advanced yoga techniques, the TM-Sidhi program.

Upon returning to England, under the influence of strong experience related to the activation of the Kundalini , Igor left his career in art, concentrating on studying Yoga and continuing long meditation sessions. This period is marked by the influence of the teachings of Swami Muktananda, whose books opened the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism to Igor.

In the fall of 2006, in an interview with Seva Novgorodtsev for the BBC Russian service , Kufaev spoke about his work and the decision to leave the painting ^[10] .

Igor conducts extensive correspondence, sharing his insights, based on personal experience, with those who are on the way . In his lectures and essays, he reveals the essence and necessity of meditation, along with self-study of the essence of personality, as a source of self-knowledge, the technologies necessary to accelerate the process of internal growth and transformation of consciousness.

Igor Kufaev lives with his girlfriend and their two children. In the spring of 2011, Kufaev and his family moved to Costa Rica , with the idea of ​​creating a regeneration center, where he spends most of his time working on the book, periodically making visits to England and Uzbekistan.

• 'Igor Kufaev ~ Vamadeva', Official site as a spiritual teacher
• Official site as an artist
• ART / Burnt offerings: Robin Dutt, The Independent , July 1, 1994, London
• Peter Ayley, Architect, Fondation Barguillere - Millenium Monument
• Seva Novgorodtsev, Crop rotation - Igor Kufaev, interview for the BBC Russian service, 10.21.2006
• Igor Kufayev - profile at Guru’s Feet, a meeting place for spiritual people