Bagzhan Alikhanov

Bagzhan Alikhanov is a contemporary Kazakh painter based in Astana, Kazakhstan. He received his artistic education at the Kazakh National University of Arts, completing the School of Arts, the College of Fine Arts, and a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts.
Working primarily in oil painting, Alikhanov develops figurative works that combine realism with symbolic and metaphorical imagery. His artistic practice explores the relationship between personal experience, history, cultural memory, mythology, and contemporary society. Rather than focusing on a single subject, he develops independent painting series, each examining different aspects of human identity and the way individuals relate to the worlds they inherit, inhabit, and imagine.
Instead of reconstructing historical events or illustrating fixed narratives, Alikhanov approaches painting as a space for interpretation. His works bring together historical fact and metaphor, reality and imagination, the past and the future, allowing different layers of meaning to exist within a single image. Through symbolism and figurative realism, he seeks to create paintings that encourage reflection rather than provide definitive answers.
While deeply connected to the cultural heritage of Kazakhstan...

Education
2022–2026
Kazakh National University of Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting)
Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting and Sculpture
Astana, Kazakhstan

2018–2022
College of the Kazakh National University of Arts
Painting
Astana, Kazakhstan

2016–2018
School of Arts, Kazakh National University of Arts
Astana, Kazakhstan

2025 – ANAU-MYNAU Biennale of Young Kazakhstan Artists 2025, Astana, Kazakhstan

2024 – “Spring Wave” Exhibition, State Military History Museum of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan

2024 – Exhibition dedicated to the 120th anniversary of Abilkhan Kasteyev, Kulanshy Contemporary Art Center, Astana, Kazakhstan