The recent exhibition of works of art by the Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Ovezdurdy Muhammetberdiyev gathered a lot of enthusiastic reviews. One of the colleagues of the famous scientist may have discovered him from the other side, but mostly Ovez Berdyevich's entourage knows about his passion for drawing, which originated in childhood. From the first box of colored pencils my mom bought.

Yes, he wanted to become an artist, but he became a scientist. There is no gap between these two hypostases. Science is a highly creative process, and the artist's work on a painting is akin to scrupulous research. And here and there some vital phenomena and situations, representations, events are dissected under a microscope and in telescopes. And there, and there – experiment and classification, the creation of something original, unprecedented, the generation of ideas.

Ovez Berdyevich himself does not consider himself "such a" painter and admits that he paints for the soul and his own pleasure, and that this hobby of his perfectly helps to "reboot the brain" in moments of prolonged mental stress.

What do scientists think about when their thoughts are not occupied with the fate of humanity or some extremely highly specialized scientific problems and theoretical dilemmas? About the same as all ordinary people: about near and far, children and friends, inspired from memory or just read or seen.

In the works of Ovezdurdy Muhammetberdiyev, the artist, there is the warmth and simplicity of this ordinary "thinking" and at the same time the penetrating gaze of a disinterested observer, noticing such characteristic subtleties and intangible details that make the composition a small story, one of those stories that old friends share with each other when they meet.

Ovez Berdyevich's human charm, his gentle manners, humor and even the radiance of his eyes are palpable in these small watercolors, pencil and acrylic sketches. He looks at the world this way, perceiving the colors of life with the receptors of the soul.

The exhibition of works by Ovezdurdy Muhammetberdiyev, which was held at the site of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, where the professor teaches, was called "Revelation". But the frankness of his artistic utterance is very delicate, he does not strive for an external effect, but retains a confidential tone in what he shares.

Here I would like to quote the phrase of art critic Altynjemal Baylyeva, who after the first exhibition of paintings by Ovez Berdyevich in the gallery "Juma" wrote:

"Nowadays we rarely have the opportunity to contemplate the paintings of artists who are free from the art market. And here is a sincere revelation...".

Although you can't refuse to manipulate the viewer's perception of the author either. For example, this work immediately attracts attention with the vibrating colors of an abstract composition, as if balancing on the verge of static.

But once you read its name – "Cavalry", the picture immediately comes to life and you can already see this moving crowd of riders, feel the trembling of the earth under the hooves of the horses, the exciting energy of what is happening… There are already some neural mechanisms involved that connect the visual impression with the word.

In this regard, Muhammetberdiyev is an artist - a brilliant storyteller, so, apparently, his brilliant mastery of oratory, the ability to hook and hold the audience was embodied in the visual system.

The old idea says that one half of the human brain is creative, and the other half is "mathematical", and each of us has a dominant half, and therefore there are two types of people: creative people who can't really count, and technical people who don't understand art. That is, physicists and lyricists, artists and nerds. This idea has long been refuted, since the human brain is much more complicated. And it can be "pumped" in both directions.

And yet, it is not for nothing that they say that gifted people are talented in everything. An example of this is the hero of our publication – Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Ovezdurdy Muhammetberdiyev, who is celebrating his 74th birthday today, and ORIENT joins numerous congratulations with wishes of new creative and scientific success!

ORIENT