ATINATI'S Culture Center is hosting an exhibition of one of Georgia’s most outstanding artists - Zurab Gikashvili. The exhibition will feature up to 30 pieces from ATINATI's and the artist's private collections. Zurab Gikashvili is a well-known representative of the group of Georgian artists of the 1990s, whose paintings are distinguished by sophisticated painting techniques. Shortly after graduating from the Tbilisi Art Academy in 1992, he held his first group show at the Ghibellina Museum of Contemporary Art in Italy.
All of Zurab Gikashvili's paintings are expressive - even seemingly calm and idyllic landscapes, upon careful examination, generate a certain sadness. Gikashvili is the author of works of various themes and formats, and each has a distinct style and mood. The objects in his works are organized in a specific order; the light in some cases shines, and in others produces comfort through shadows. The ceremonies and unusual gatherings Gikashvili captures somehow leave the viewer with a sense of fatality; images that depict the spontaneous unity of confused and helpless people, animals, and things that appear to gather involuntarily in the artist’s world. Zurab Gikashvili's portraits and self-portraits feature existential tones. He expresses himself through meditation and self-concentration.
Biography
Zurab Gikashvili was born in Kvareli in 1961. He attended Telavi Art School before moving to the Tbilisi Iakob Nikoladze Art School. He graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1992. Gikashvili has been involved in a number of international projects since his college days. His art was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London in 2000. Zurab Gikashvili presented Georgia in the 2009 Prague Biennale. His works are housed in both local and international collections.
