Asal Raximova

Painter, dutar player and young activist from Samarkand, Uzbekistan. A high school senior applying to university abroad.

Innovator. Performing artist. Activist.

See the paintings Write to me

Pomegranates ripening on a branch among green leaves, painted in gouache. — Pomegranates Gouache on paper

Hey, I’m Asal

I’m a high school senior from Uzbekistan, blending my love for politics, traditional music and visual arts.

I’m passionate about understanding societies, challenging inequalities, and using creativity to make a difference in my community. I paint in watercolour, gouache and graphite, play the dutar, and spend the rest of my time on the questions of how people live together and who gets left out.

From: Pastdarg’om district, Samarkand region, Uzbekistan
School: General secondary school No. 52, senior year
Art and music: Children’s Music and Art School No. 26: fine art 2018–2023, dutar 2021–2025
Interests: Politics and society, Uzbek classical music, painting

Walls covered in painted geometric mosaics and a tall painted vase of flowers, inside a house near Samarkand. — Painted walls in a house near Samarkand, photographed by Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky around 1911. The vase of flowers on the wall is still the subject I paint most.

Paintings and drawings

Eighteen works in watercolour, gouache, acrylic, graphite and ink. Choose a colour from my palette to see the paintings it runs through.

A black jug, red apples and a pear on white and red drapery. — Still life with a black jug Watercolour

Purple and white lilac in a blue glass vase against a golden background. — Lilac Acrylic

Detailed graphite portrait of a young woman with a floral tattoo on her neck, looking up. — Portrait with a tattoo Graphite

A brightly coloured bird holding a red berry, in loose watercolour splashes. — Bird with a berry Watercolour

A yellow house with a red roof, carved wooden door and a wall lantern. — The yellow house Coloured pencil

A tall vase holding dried seed heads, drawn with dense pencil hatching. — Vase with dry seed heads Pencil

Watercolour portrait of a woman with blue hair falling across one eye. — Blue hair Watercolour

An autumn tree, a path through green grass and a stone windmill under a blue sky. — Windmill in October Watercolour

Academic graphite study of hanging drapery with a sphere and a pear. — Drapery, sphere and pear Graphite

Yellow flowers in an orange vase standing in sunlight. — Yellow flowers, orange vase Watercolour

Orange tulips in a white jug with pears and an orange on an embroidered cloth, against black. — Tulips and pears on a suzani Gouache

Pen drawing of mountains, pine trees, a cabin and stones in a still lake. — Lake below the mountains Ink

An old village well with a wooden roof among green trees. — The old well Watercolour

A torii gate, a pagoda and a red sun among bursts of red, orange and purple paint. — Torii in autumn Watercolour and ink

Loose sepia study of a woman’s face looking down, on a sketchbook page. — Study in sepia Ink wash

Ripe pears around a clear glass on a white table. — Pears and a glass Watercolour

Garden flowers in yellow, blue and purple in a dark pot, with pears on the table. — Garden flowers and pears Watercolour

Pomegranates ripening on a branch among green leaves. — Pomegranates Gouache

One pear, five times

A pear is the first thing an art student is asked to draw. I keep returning to it whenever I try a new medium: it shows how light, weight and colour change from graphite to watercolour to gouache.

Graphite
Watercolour, layered
Watercolour, wet into wet
Watercolour, loose
Gouache

Open green booklet: graduation certificate in fine art from Children’s Music and Art School No. 26, all subjects graded 5. — Graduation certificate in fine art, issued 29 May 2023

Five years of art school

From 2018 to 2023 I studied fine art at Children’s Music and Art School No. 26 in Samarkand district, alongside my regular school. I graduated with 5, the top grade, in all seven subjects.

Speciality: fine art5
Painting5
Composition, easel5
Composition, applied5
Sculpture5
History of fine art5
Computer graphics5

Dutar and shashmaqom

The dutar is the two-stringed lute of Uzbek classical music. From 2021 to 2025 I studied traditional performance on it at the same school, including maqom and shashmaqom, the six-part classical repertoire of Bukhara and Samarkand, and again finished with 5 in every subject.

Speciality: dutar5
Solfeggio5
Ensemble5
Maqom and shashmaqom5
Music literature5
General piano5
Elective subject5

1st place Dutar performance, “Five initiatives in the holidays” contest, School No. 52, 2022
2nd place District stage of the “Iqtidor” school ensemble competition, 2025

A long-necked dutar with a pear-shaped wooden body inlaid with bone. — A dutar made around 1860. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Politics and community

Art and music taught me to look closely. Politics is where I try to use that: to understand why some people are heard and others are not, and to help change it where I live.

Letter of gratitude Samarkand District Administration, Youth Day, 30 June
Certificate of participation Social event organised by School No. 52
Certificate of honour Excellent grades and exemplary conduct, school year 2024–2025

Letter of gratitude from the Samarkand District Administration on Youth Day, awarded to Raximova Asal. — Letter of gratitude, Youth Day

Glass trophy: laureate of the Kamalak yulduzlari children’s creativity festival, Youth Forum of Uzbekistan 2021. — Youth Forum of Uzbekistan, 2021

Certificate of honour from School No. 52 for excellent grades and exemplary conduct in 2024–2025. — Certificate of honour, 2025

Diplomas and certificates

Every award and certificate, oldest first. Select one to read the original.

Write to me

For admissions questions, the original documents or a conversation about my work, email is best. I answer within a day.

raximovaasal51@gmail.com

Phone: +998 93 973 13 09
Instagram: @rrrraamii____
Based in: Samarkand, Uzbekistan (UTC+5)

Email Asal