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OTAR CHKHARTISHVILI

Otar Chkhartishvili (ოთარ ჩხარტიშვილი, 1950) is a Georgian artist. His artworks, created with unusual materials or items, taken out of their usual context, undermined the unshakeable principles of social realism and academic dogmas. Otar Chkhartishvili’s quest pointed out the artist’s goal of finding an artistic method that expressed a modern mood rather than ideology. In this way, he remained steady and truthful until the very end. He devoted his life and art to the pursuit of self-renewal. “From the late 1960s to the 1990s, I bore the cross of the anti-Soviet artist, and that’s why my art became a weapon against totalitarianism and atheism…” – wrote the artist in his autobiography. The conceptual series “Four Seasons: My Yard” (1980–1998) is a highlight of his body of work. When the focus shifts from the aesthetic to the concept, an anti-formalist approach appears for the first time in Georgian art. Otar Chkhartishvili’s artworks are kept in museums and private collections, including the Georgian National Museum and the Zimmerli Art Museum (New Jersey, USA). In 2016, two paintings by Otar Chkhartishvili, “On the Roof” and “Sukhumi,” were sold for auction at Sotheby’s. The exhibition Art Inspired by Freedom, which marks the anniversary of Otar Chkhartishvili’s 85th birthday, is divided into two sections: “Four Seasons. My Yard” and “New Realism.” The exhibition featured up to 60 works by the artist, including paintings, collages, assemblages, and objects created between 1967 and 2002, from the Georgian National Museum and the artist’s family collections. Host of the exhibition Georgian National Museum Curated by Alexandra Matsatso Gabunia and co-curated by Nino Asanidze