VAKHO BUGADZE - 0, I, II

The ATINATI Culture Center will hold two parallel exhibitions of Vakho Bugadze’s work, titled - 0,I,II. On March 18, the exhibitions will open at Public School / Art School No.104 and, in parallel, at the ATINATI Cultural Center.
Vakho Bugadze (born April 18, 1964) is a notable representative of the Georgian Fine Arts. A sculptor by education, he chose painting as his primary medium. From the 1990s onwards, he has taken part in numerous exhibitions held both in Georgia and abroad.
Vakho Bugadze's creative approach is difficult to put a name to, yet it is a style distinguished by an emotive description of brutal reality, one which seems to be created using sculptural conceptions, with the people shown on his canvases being guardians of unknown secrets.
The exhibition presents Vakho Bugadze's works in both mediums. The presented works convey an emotional and realistic connection to the school— to the time when the artist studied in the same building (the current No.104 Public School).
The concept for the two-stage exhibition (in the ATINATI Cultural Center and at No.104 Public School) stems from an old photo of the school found in the artist's archive. The artist worked on the series for over a year, creating over 60 works. This exhibition will showcase the symbolic path of Bugadze’s progression from school pupil to his becoming an artist. The exhibition will end at the ATINATI Cultural Center.

The exhibition will also present an installation— a corner to develop simulated photos.

Concept of the exhibition:

“A child's pre-school life, spent at home with their parents, is usually carefree, but it changes dramatically after Grade 0.
Fights, observing things, meeting their first friend, and an entirely different joy as the class eventually becomes their own... Being in ambiguity, or enjoying the existing environment and feeling satisfied with oneself, are all part of the learning process, even though disappointment is remembered more often.
When it is a routine, it takes on a different appearance, and one becomes accustomed to it. And finally comes love, which remains a stronger feeling in us than even the love of our classmates. With this exhibition, I do not intend to focus on memory as such, but rather on those aspects of memory that we no longer see as "memory" in the present moment.” - Vakho Bugadze