Tbilisi, Georgia: The Georgian Ministry of Culture and Sports congratulated the world-famous Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli on his 90th birthday on January 4, 2024.
Zurab Tsereteli, the recipient of many awards and honours, was born in Tbilisi in 1934. He graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1958, studying under prominent Georgian painters such as Ucha Japaridze, Apollo Kutateladze, Joseph Sharlemani and Vasil Shukhaev.
He was interested in various forms of monumental-decorative art, such as panels, mosaics, stained glass and sculpture, and exhibited his works frequently.
From 1959 to 1966, he worked as a painter-architect at the Javakhishvili Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography and took part in archaeological expeditions.
He became the chief painter of the Foundation of the Union of Artists of Georgia in 1965 and a professor at the Tbilisi State Academy of Art in 1981. He headed the Department of Monumental-Decorative Arts of the Academy in 1983 and founded and led the Creative Union of Designers in Georgia in 1987.
In 1989, he moved to the Russian Federation and became the Russian Academy of Art president in 1997. He also became a professor at Brockport State University in New York State the same year. He founded and directed the Moscow Museum of Modern Art in 1999 and the Art Gallery in 2000.
Zurab Tsereteli is widely known for his large-scale sculptures and monuments, such as the Peter the Great Statue in Moscow, the Tear of Grief in New Jersey, and the Good Defeats Evil in New York. He has also created paintings, drawings, ceramics, jewellery, and tapestries and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide.
The Georgian Ministry of Culture and Sports praised Zurab Tsereteli for his outstanding achievements and contributions to the Georgian and global art scene. He wished him a happy birthday and a long and healthy life.
