All artists can be divided into three groups: very successful in life, appreciated after death, and completely unknown artists. And this is not because someone is better or worse, it is more likely that human qualities are manifested here, and not the degree of talent. After all, the artist is a special person, he looks different, he sees a little more, which means he feels differently. 

 

 

Recently, we lost one of our special people. On November 22, 2021, after a long illness, the talented artist Azad Khalilov passed away. The author of remarkable works, an unknown philosopher, a loving and beloved father, grandfather, and husband, has passed away. He lived for 65 years very quietly and modestly, protecting and indulging the lives of loved ones, doing everything in his power, without compromises with fate or with a conscience.

 

 

 

He was talented. His abilities were first shown in childhood, when, as a boy, he painted the desks of an orphanage. And if other children were punished for damaging state property, then the nurses did not dare to touch the drawings of little Azad and were even proud of the abilities of their pupils. It was more difficult at school. Azad was self-taught. Fate gave him the chance to become a student at an art school. The director of the school, having looked at the drawings, said that she would accept him without exams. But Azad managed to lose his eight-grade certificate and did not manage to take the opportunity to get an art education. Perhaps for the best; known that the academic school is not always conducive to the development of distinctive talent. Azad was a self-taught artist. He learned by studying and copying the works of famous artists, including Salvador Dali. But to say that Dali had a significant influence on his work is not correct. Azad had his own world, which he materialized with techniques, including those borrowed from other artists. However, his work has always been recognizable. "The father was an excellent painter and graphic artist,” his son Rauf recalls, "possessed the skills of academic drawing and was also well versed in plastic anatomy without any special education. He was an adherent of precisely the academic approach in the study of such basic principles as perspective, proportion, composition, etc. However, despite all his commitment to academism, he often admitted that he admired various revolutionary movements in the world of fine arts. One such movement at the beginning of the 20th century was an expressionist group called the Blue Rider.

 

 

Leaving stagnant canons of academic painting was the main ideology of the creative association "Blue Rider." artist-designer at a variety of enterprises, ranging from children's camps and ending with the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (Kaspar), as well as the Academy of Sciences. work creatively: not being able to express himself behind the closed door of the workshop, he gave the beauty that lived in him wherever it was required. Nobody could appreciate this beauty, even people far from art. And then she appeared, his muse, support, and love throughout his life - Gamar, a woman who loves and believes, who did not leave him in the most difficult moments of his life. She became his inspiration and practically freed him from unnecessary connection with the material world. Azad got a family and the opportunity to work on himself. Gamar ordered paints and brushes for him, took out stretchers and canvases. He found freedom. He read a lot, he was fond of philosophy, could again come to the world of his fantasies and dreams. Books were his passion, especially books about artists. There is someone who sees and feels this world as well as he does, who also expresses overwhelming pain and suffering. The disease appeared when he was serving in the army in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, as a result of an injury. His youth somehow reconciled him with this test, but not for long. Constant physical pain became his secret and faithful companion for the rest of his life. Together with his Gamar, his Gala, who held his free hand to the end. He managed to become in demand, not from the point of view of the practical world, he was really needed. Working as an artist in the Theater of the Young Spectator, he created unforgettable scenery and posters ("Ərizə”, "Şəhidlər”, "Ruhlar qapını döyür”), not passable, no. These were stunning creations at that time, ahead of the time and consciousness of various events of socialist realism, his works in the Heydar Aliyev Palace are still stored and used. In the generally recognized sense of the word, his work (Khary Bul-bul and others) is in demand to this day. Moreover, without an academic background, he became a guru for many other aspiring artists. And primarily, for their own children. He passed on to his children the ability to subtly feel and experience this world. Yes, each of them found their own ways.

 

His son, Rauf Khalilov is a member of the Azerbaijan Directors Guild, a member of the Union of Cinematographers, film director, electronic music composer, designer, and producer. Daughter, Arzu Khalilova - artist, member of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan. His beloved grandson, Kanan Khalilov, runs his own video games channel.

 

 

In each of them, there is a divine spark from the fire burning in their father and grandfather in one person. This spark shines in their eyes, actions, and creativity, in their love for everything they touch. These are the children and a grandson of Azad and Gamar Khalilovs. Artists, who had already taken place came to Azad, already confined to a wheelchair, for advice. His work was noted by prominent art critics. He was invited to participate in exhibitions, where his work was immediately sold out. He was an excellent surrealist and portrait painter. Many of his paintings are in private collections around the world (France, Germany, USA, Kuwait, Turkey, Israel, Russia, and other countries). But this is not about him ... Azad was an artist by nature more than by occupation. But this did not prevent him from passionately engaging in fishing and hunting, maintaining relationships with friends, and enjoying life in all its manifestations. Life did not give him a happy childhood, took away his health, but in return gave him his wife, partner, and best friend Gala and wings that allowed him to soar above the earth, and in the end, forever fly away into his world, the world of his paintings, his dreams, and games.