When the American art collector Richard Spooner first touched down in Almaty, then capital of Kazakhstan, he was one of the first American bankers there.
It was 1992, and the country, just one year into its independence, was suffering a near total economic breakdown. The city's inhabitants were braving the winter without power and hot water, and scrabbling for jobs and even food. Art was the last thing on anyone's mind.
Spooner, who'd built up a collection of Soviet non-conformist art in his nine years in Soviet-era Moscow, gradually began to make purchases. He found a small gallery on the fourth floor of the country's only western hotel. He was introduced to some local artists.
"They were doing all sorts of stuff: they were painting realism, they were painting impressionism and expressionism. The control over artists was never as strict here as it was in Moscow or Leningrad."
It didn't take long before the Kazakh art world had started to pick itself up, however. By 1995, a new type of contemporary Kazakh artist had already emerged.
Kanat Ibragimov, one of the country's first conceptual artists, made his name in Moscow for nailing the carcass of a chicken to the door of the gallery that had invited him to exhibit, spattering blood onto the floor around.
For Ibragimov, this symbolised his, and perhaps Kazakh Art's, arrival in the capital of their former overlord.
As the Mongol horde swept across Russia in the Middle Ages, brutally sacking city after city, they would begin - or so Ibragimov believed - by nailing a chicken, split exactly in half, on to the city walls.
Now, 15 years after Ibragimov's stunt, and 20 after Spooner first set foot in Kazakhstan, Kazakh art is knocking on the doors of another city. But this time the only chicken in sight is on the capapés passed around the packed rooms of Christie's auctioneers in London's Pall Mall. And rather than suffering, the Kazakhs there are among London's richest people.
Treasures of Kazakhstan, a rare Christie's exhibition held this summer, combined the best works from Almaty's state-owned Kasteev State Museum, with works from the private collection of Nurlan Smugalov, a Kazakh entrepreneur who is Spooner's only significant rival in collecting.
The exhibition featured impressionist works, abstract compositions and a good collection of socialist realist paintings.
The international art world is starting to discover Kazakh art, just like Spooner did way back in the early 1990s.
The most striking painting in the exhibition, and, strangely, the one with the most resonance to Ibragimov's work, was a huge 1960s socialist realist canvas called A Game of Kokpar, featuring the traditional Kazakh horseback contest played with the decapitated torso of a dead goat.
Alexis de Tiesenhausen, the head of Christie's Russian art department, who put the paintings together, says: "The fun of this is for once working without money, without having a product to sell, just turning up at the exhibition and just enjoying art."
But Christie's is clearly eyeing the Kazakh multi-millionaires and billionaires chattering in the room. They're an untapped market, which could potentially do for Kazakh art what Indian and Russian millionaires have done for their own national artists over the past decade.
The profile of Kazakhstan's art is rising with its oil-fuelled economy: in December, Sotheby's hosted an exhibition of 30 works by modern Kazakh artists at its New Bond Street premises as part of Kazakh Art Week; James Butterwick, one of the most prominent London dealers in Russian fine art, hopes to open a gallery in Almaty shortly. Sara Raza, a former curator at Tate Modern, who last year directed BAF Art School in Dubai, is planning to launch a London gallery next year, exclusively focusing on contemporary Central Asian Art.
Spooner has concentrated on buying artists who in the 1960s exploited the cracks in the monolith of socialist realism, experimenting with expressionism, traditional patterns, and other techniques: artists such as Abdrashit Sidhikhanov, Amandos Akanayev, and Salikhatdin Aitbayev.
"There were a whole generation of artists who sort of came of age in the 1960s who were balancing three things: the influence they were getting from Moscow and Leningrad; their own desire to express their Kazkah identity; and the restrictions of socialist realism, which says you're only supposed to paint things that portray Socialist development in a positive light."
When Smugalov and Spooner were buying, art collecting was an affordable hobby. "The paintings were extremely cheap," says Smugalov. "You could find an amazing piece for $200, that now you could find for $20,000-$25,000 [Dh92,000]."
"Back then, I was witness in Moscow to scenes where you'd get to midnight and after and artists would sell a watercolour for a glass of vodka," says Spooner.
They would mostly buy directly from contemporary artists and the families of artists of the previous generation.
There were also extraordinary opportunities to buy art from the previous generations, even some pre-revolutionary art.
"The Soviet Union was falling apart, control was falling apart, the government was out of money, so people started selling all sorts of things, including art," says Spooner.
Kazakhstan had a surprisingly rich collection. Elizaveta Kim, head of the Contemporary Art Centre at the Kasteev Museum, which put on the Christie's exhibition with Smugalov, says that throughout the 1930s, extraordinary paintings from pre-revolutionary Russia were quietly shipped off to Kazakhstan by Moscow galleries in the hope they would be far enough away to survive the predations of Stalin's art policy.
From the mid-1930s, avant-garde artists were themselves shipped to Kazakhstan.
The Russian exiles survived by teaching in various art schools and so inspired a new generation of ethnically Kazakh artists who, from the 1960s onwards, developed a Kazakh school of art, which, according to Christie's, prized "flatness, monumentality of form, unity of colour and drawing, and symbolism."
At the same time, Kazakh artists were seeking to create a sense of nationhood in a republic that had been created by Stalin as recently as 1936. Abilkhan Kasteev, the father of Kazakh art, began painting realist scenes of nomads in yurts, milking horses and making cheese, with the soaring peaks of the Tian Shan mountains as a backdrop.
Many of these, like Moldakhmet Kenbayev's Game of Kokpar, were brilliantly executed but conservative.
But others pushed the boundaries of what was politically acceptable. Salikhitdin Aitbayev's 1966 work Happiness, one of the most famous Kazakh paintings shown at Christie's, departed from classic socialist realism in a way that would have been impossible in Moscow. Even in liberal Almaty, it caused waves.
"It was a very controversial painting at the time, and it was not allowed to be exhibited for several years," says Meruyert Kim, Christies' Kazakh art specialist.
But a lot of the new interest in Kazakh art is not going to the pioneers of the 1960s, but to Ibragimov and his peers.
After his chicken work, Ibragimov's next move, at the 1997 Moscow Art Fair, was to slaughter a sheep in the gallery, and then drink its blood, an act which led to a fight with vegetarian German artists exhibiting, and a petition to have him removed from the fair. He claimed, rather disingenuously, that he was merely following his Kazakh tradition of celebrating an event by slaughtering a sheep and accused his detractors of being cultural imperialists.
Ibragimov then gave up art for most of the past decade, even working at one point as a political propagandist for the Nur Otan party, which supports Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
But last year, he returned to art, staging a series of brazenly political events. In February, he cut the head off a fish in Almaty's Central Square, while reciting the Russian proverb,"A fish rots from its head down". In July, he circumcised himself to celebrate the president's birthday. More recently, he launched a "Virtual Party" with no beliefs or causes.
"Most of his works are directed simply towards shocking people," says Smugalov. "I don't care too much if he's trying to offend people, but I think it's a big mistake for people who don't know anything about Kazakhstan to look at Kanat Ibragimov and think he represents the Kazakh art scene."
Spooner goes further: "A number of people here really went all out jumping on the contemporary art bandwagon over the past 10 years. A lot of them became very dogmatic about how contemporary art is the only thing that matters, and painting is an outdated, backward form of artistic expression. And a lot these were the same people who 30 years ago were saying [he puts on a robot voice] 'socialist realism is the only way'."
But it's this Kazakh contemporary art scene that is exciting Raza. She traces Kazakh art's emergence to the 2005 Venice Biennale, where Kazakhstan was represented by Rustam Khalfin, a successful painter, who had turned to conceptual art. In 2007, Khalfin, who died two years ago, was rewarded with an exhibition at London's White Cube gallery.
"Central Asian artists really found their feet following their debut in the Venice Bienniale in 2005," Raza argues, "and we really do hope to work with some of the best talent in the region with a mix of group and solo shows. "
She likes Ibragimov, describing him as a "spin doctor-stroke-artist who can bring a real catalyst of change to the region through the language of art and culture."
Spooner is hedging his bets on whether the surge in interest is here to stay. "Any time something new appears, it's, "Oh, we haven't seen that before, we haven't shown this before. So attention is paid to it. Then it's a question of whether there's any merit in it. If there's no merit in it, it's not going to take off. I'm not sure if Kazakh art is going to take off. But at least it's being noticed."
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Greatest Royal Rumble results
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Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ferrari
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Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
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Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
