Zayasaikhan Sambuu born in 1975 better known as Zaya, comes from a small, isolated town in the
Gobi desert in Western Mongolia. Zaya combines the styles and themes of Mongolian traditional painting with contemporary Asian art in “a bridge between old and new art.” Scenes of ancient daily life, echoes of his nomadic, Central Asian roots, themes of Tibetan spirituality and traditional Mongolian and
Japanese techniques all go into the unique mix he brings to his canvases. Using a technique that
fuses watercolors, gouache, brush, and mixed media, Zaya works with a warm yet
somewhat dark palette.
Many of Zaya’s paintings depict noble or royal Mongolian women, all with
costumes and hair styles drawn from traditional fashion designs of nomadic
aristocracy. These figures are often accompanied by wild animals such as snow
leopards and cheetah or wolves symbolizing the
connection of beauty to nature.
Zaya feels that because of the constant migration and never-ending warfare of
the Central Asian nomad lifestyle, the art and culture of Mongolia, though rich
with
beauty and mystery, is largely unknown to the rest of world. Zaya has made it
his mission to evangelize Mongolian art through a contemporary oeuvre that
suggests antiquity.
Mongolia’s nomadic culture and heritage was largely forgotten even in Mongolia
during the country’s communist era, in fact, and began to reemerge only as
oppression and censorship started to fade away during Zaya’s teenage years.
Zaya, who showed early talent as an artist, was encouraged by his elders to
render portraits of Buddhist Gods as the culture began to recover religious
customs and values that had been forbidden for decades under the communist
regime.
So strong was the pull of Buddhism on Zaya that at the age of 15 he decided to
become a monk. However, after two years of studying Tibetan religious texts and
living within the strict rules of the order, he realized that his interest lay
in art itself rather than religion. Zaya then enrolled in the Soyol Fine Art
College in Ulaanbaatar to study traditional Mongolian fine arts.
He continued
to study at the Institute of Fine Art at the Mongolian University of
Culture and Art, from which he graduated in 2002 after successfully presenting
solo exhibitions in the Art Union of Mongolia. In 2003, Zaya was named the
best young artist in the Art Show of Young Artists content.
In recent years, Zaya has joined the international community of artists, with
shows in USA, Australia, UK, Japan and Europe.
Exhibitions
2011 Vision of the future exhibition. Yokohama Japan
2011 Vision of the future exhibition. Wakayama Japan
2011 Vision of the future exhibition. Takamatsu Japan
2011 Nomad Man.Soho Art Gallery. Osaka Japan
2011 Art Expo New York NY USA
2011 Transnational art 2011 Contemporary art center Osaka Japan
2010 Nomad Man show tour UK
2010 Nomad Man show tour Europe
2009 Nomad Man exhibition Matsuyama Japan
2008 Nomad Man exhibition Niihama Japan
2008 solo show Brisbane Australia
2007 -2010 artist Galerie Elektra Sausalito CA USA
1999-2003 Solo art exhibitions Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
2001 Exhibition at German Embassy in Mongolia