Ali Shamsi

My name is Ali Shamsi, and I am a contemporary artist from Baku, Azerbaijan, born on January 1, 1964. My artistic abilities became evident from an early age. My childhood was spent surrounded by nature, which greatly influenced the formation of my artistic perception. As I often say, my first canvas was stone and my first brush was a nail.

My artistic practice is rooted in intuition, personal experience, and an inner need to express emotions and philosophical ideas through visual imagery. Over time, I developed my own artistic language characterized by a vibrant color palette, symbolic imagery, and expressive compositions.

My work explores themes of spirituality, inner harmony, love, human consciousness, and the connection between humans and nature. I strive to create paintings that speak for themselves and invite viewers to reflection and emotional engagement.

My home and studio in Icherisheher have become an extension of my artistic practice. I transformed the building’s facades into a large-scale work of art covered with symbols, ornamental elements, and philosophical motifs.

In my paintings, I combine elements of traditional Azerbaijani ornamentation with contemporary artistic expression, creating a visual dialogue between ...

Azerbaijan State Institute of Arts, Baku — Graduated in 1985

Specialized Art Boarding School, Baku — Studied painting, drawing, and composition

Lived and worked in a monastery near Kharkiv, focusing on icon painting, which significantly influenced the development of symbolic and spiritual elements in my artistic practice.

• 1995 — First exhibition in Baku
• 1998 — Solo exhibition in Dresden, Germany
• 2006 — Solo exhibition in Houston, USA
• 2007 — Solo exhibition in Riga, Latvia
• 2008 — Solo exhibition in Baku, Azerbaijan
• 2009 — Joint exhibition with Peter Kuže at “Galerie Berlin-Baku” (Berlin, Germany)
• 2009 — Participation representing Azerbaijan in the “United Buddy Bears” project Art for Tolerance
• 2010 — Solo exhibition in Dubai
• 2010 — Creative evening and exhibition at the Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku
• 2011 — Solo exhibition in Paris
• 2012 — Solo exhibition in Normandy
• 2013 — Solo exhibition in Italy
• 2014 — Solo exhibition Two Peaks, Baku, Azerbaijan
• 2016 — Solo exhibition at “The Framers” gallery, London, UK
• 2017 — Joint exhibition The Magic of Seashores: from Côte de Granit Rose to the Caspian Sea with Bernard Vidal at “Galerie Berlin-Baku” (Berlin, Germany)
• 2019 — International contemporary art exhibition Art Shopping, Paris, France
• 2019 — Charity exhibition Hope for Life at the Museum of Modern Art