On December 15, 2023, at 18:00, the Museum Center in Baku will host the jubilee exhibition “Metamorphic Links: 70/30” by renowned painter and sculptor Ibrahim Hasanov and painter Ruhulla Hasanzade.
This year marks the 70th birthday of artist and sculptor Ibrahim Hasanov, and the 30th birthday of his son, painter Ruhulla Hasanzade.
Ibrahim Hasanov is widely known among art lovers as a versatile painter and sculptor. His creative biography has been shaped by a constant search across different artistic directions.
In 1990, his first solo exhibition was held in Baku. The show featured painting, sculpture, graphics, and “soft sculpture” — a genre that breathed new life into his work and attracted strong interest from visitors from Norway, Germany, Turkey, and beyond.
His second solo exhibition took place in London in 1991, where all displayed works were acquired by the London Museum. That same year, he became a member of the Azerbaijan Union of Artists. In 1995, he was personally invited by Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller to live and work in Turkey.
His studio holds a wealth of projects and sketches, including a monumental work dedicated to “Nuru Pasha and his Islamic Army,” the “End to Aggression” project honouring the Azerbaijani soldier, and a sculpture of Baku philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev.
Many of Ibrahim Hasanov’s works have been acquired by foreign museums and private collections. His stone carving “Waiting” is housed in the Oriental Museum in Tokyo.
A warm-hearted and modest artist, he is also known for his charitable work — sculpting busts of several Karabakh war martyrs free of charge, including the Mubariz Ibrahimov bust in Gabala and a large memorial to the Karabakh martyrs in Keshla. His monumental works can be found across many cities and regions of Azerbaijan, including a 3-metre sculpture of poet and publicist Mirza Alakbar Sabir installed in front of the poet’s house museum, and a striking composition unveiled in 2018 in front of the equestrian club in Mehdiabad.

Ruhulla Hasanzade is one of Azerbaijan’s leading young artists, working across painting, sculpture, illustration, and conceptual art. Born in Baku in 1993 into an artist family, he developed a passion for drawing from an early age. At just 12 years old, his work was exhibited in a public exhibition for the first time — and within months, he was featured in a book titled “Talents of the 21st Century.”
Since 2018, he has been a member of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, with early works exhibited at international shows in Belgium, Russia, and Turkey. He has participated in various symposiums and projects held in Icherisheher (Baku’s UNESCO-listed Old City) and at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated.
Notable collaborations include the “Invasion of the Museum” project in 2014, curated by Sabina Shikhlinskaya at the National Art Museum under YARAT, where he exhibited an installation titled “Oil Pipeline.” He also participated in the “Art Energie – 20” exhibition marking SOCAR’s 20th anniversary, and in the opening of “Art Rising” at the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art.
On December 17, 2018, his solo exhibition “RUH” opened at the Baku Modern Art Center.
In 2019, he began collaborating with French perfume brand Martin Micallef on an “art collection” series. From June 2020, a limited edition of hand-painted perfumes under the names Martin Micallef and Ruh Zadeh became available.

The “Metamorphic Links: 70/30” exhibition will feature 22 modern sculptures and 28 paintings by Ibrahim Hasanov, alongside 30–35 paintings by Ruhulla Hasanzade — approximately 65 paintings and 22 sculptures in total.