With the support of the Georgian Ministry of Culture and Sports, the National Gallery named after Dimitri Shevardnadze hosts for the first time a personal exhibition of painter Sofio Cherkezishvili – “And then he said, maybe” and a large-scale exhibition of the famous painter Temo Machavariani.
The Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia, Thea Tsulukiani visited the national gallery of Georgia.
The exhibition of Sofio Cherkezishvili’s works will continue until July 14. In addition to 28 works, part of the exposition is the installation “Trees Know How to Support.” The artist explains the idea and principles of the exhibition in this way: “I dedicate this story to the trees; I know they fly; to the bridges and lazes I know I will build; to the tales, I know I will believe, and to the bells, I will probably hear.”
Sofio Cherkezishvili graduated from Tbilisi’s Jakob Nikoladze Art School and, in 1994, Tbilisi State Art Academy. He is the first artist to travel abroad to study after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. For four years (1994-1998), he studied at Gerrit Rietveld Academy (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Then, he returned to Georgia and started active creative and pedagogical activities.
He taught at Jakob Nikoladze Art School (1999-2006) and Tbilisi State Art Academy (2010-2018) at the Faculty of Fine Arts. Since 2006, he has been an Audio-Visual and Media Arts professor at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). He has actively participated in various international and local exhibitions and projects since 2000. Sofio Cherkezishvili understood the artist’s free will as a metaphysical, spiritual phenomenon.
It returns to what is already perceived or experienced, making it an object of re-experience. His best-known project is “Why is the grass growing on my head?” “One minute is enough to see the whole life.” “The Caucasian was thinking about me.” “Ships will stop if you need it.” In this series, the artist will learn his fictional, different me. She offers all aesthetic forms and messages; from her images, we can hear women’s voices.
Temo Machavariani’s retrospective exhibition presents up to 60 paintings and the artist’s graphic works.
Temo Machavariani’s creative path starts in the 70s. They said he was a painter, physiologically and biologically. A very humble artist became a free artist. Compromise that profoundly divides the language of painting or graphics has permanently been excluded.
Temo Machavariani’s graphic or painting heritage is the artist’s hometown landscapes and portraits of his loved ones. As a painter and teacher, he greatly influenced Georgian painting and society and left a deep mark. Temo Machavariani’s exhibition in the National Gallery will last until September 1. With the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Georgia, a book album about Temo Machavariani’s works will be published.
As it is known, in 2021, at the initiative of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Tea Tsulukiani, after many years of requests from artists, the National Gallery returned to its exhibition function, and the halls are again filled with exhibitions of both famous artists and young talented artists.
The Georgian National Gallery has already hosted more than 90 artists’ exhibitions. Work is underway to implement the exhibition projects for 2025-2026.
