Alua Tebenova

I am a Kazakhstani artist based in Romania, and my paintings have been exhibited in both countries. My artistic practice focuses on the relationship between tradition and contemporaneity, with a sustained interest in the cultural heritage of Central Asia. Born and raised in Kazakhstan and later educated in Romania, my work is shaped by cross-cultural experience, academic research, and visual investigation. Through my doctoral research, Tradition and Contemporaneity: Culture in Central Asia, I examined the symbolism, ethnogenesis, and cultural continuity of nomadic societies—themes that continue to inform my artistic direction. Through my paintings, I seek to combine philosophical reflection with symbolic elements connected to the ethnogenesis of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. Questions of identity, memory, femininity, and cultural transformation recur throughout my work, including earlier projects such as Nomadic Woman.
My artistic expression is diverse; I alternate between classical realism and abstract expressionism, fusing the traditional with the modern. By integrating inherited cultural motifs into a contemporary visual language, I explore how tradition can be reinterpreted and given renewed relevance in the present.

2018 – 2025: PhD in Visual Art, University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
2016 – 2018: Master`s degree in Fine Arts, University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
2011 – 2015: Bachelor`s degree in Fine Arts Pedagogy, Karaganda State University, Kazakhstan.