Art Foundation Anagi, in collaboration with The Why Not Gallery, presents Mariam Akhobadze’s solo exhibition Static Exercises.

The artist’s latest series of paintings, titled The Exercises, centers on the physical body. Suspended in motion – whether in free fall, dynamic action, or sculptural stillness – stylized figures perform gymnastic movements within spaces where perspective is destabilized and time appears slowed.
The pastel tonalities of the figures and surrounding space contrast with the intense, rainbow hues of a plastic toy. A familiar object from childhood – the classic slinky spring – emerges as the unifying motif of the series. Many recall the childhood myth that this colorful toy could “walk” down stairs in a rhythmic cascade. The artist translates this memory into a visual narrative: the slinky traverses from one canvas to another, conceptually binding the compositions together.

Akhobadze often constructs her series around a single, seemingly simple and insignificant object. Drawn to it, she transforms it into a recurring element across multiple narratives. These objects of creative fixation are frequently items of mass consumption – such as a toy or a baseball – recontextualized within the pictorial field. Here, the plastic, rainbow-colored slinky shifts roles: in one work, it is handled by gymnasts; in another, it passes from hand to hand among friends gathered in a room. At times, it appears as a medium of connection, a pretext for interaction, while elsewhere it reveals the tension and fragility embedded within those relationships. In yet another instance, the familiar toy becomes an object of solitary engagement, accompanying moments of introspection, idleness, or quiet thought.

In these works, introspection and disorientation, emotional rigidity, control, and spontaneity shift in a kaleidoscopic rhythm. Opposing states are transformed into play, into a series of emotional exercises. The artist orchestrates a subtle “associative game,” inviting the viewer on a journey through imagination, memory, and sensation.

A young artist whose style and technique have, until now, largely remained within the framework of academic painting, Akhobadze embraces a newfound lightness and openness to play in this series. In this gesture – whether instinctive or deliberate, we witness her crossing the boundaries she once set for herself, and, willingly or not, the viewer becomes a participant in this unfolding experiment.

Mariam Akhobadze (b. 1990) is a Georgian figurative painter. She completed her MA in Painting at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 2017. Her work has been widely exhibited in Georgia. Notable solo exhibitions include Ordinary Life at the Tbilisi History Museum (Karvasla), Georgian National Museum (2021), and Shadows Determine Time at The Why Not Gallery (2024). Selected group exhibitions include Frozen Forest, Abu Dhabi Art Fair (2023), curated by Les Radicants and Nicolas Bourriaud. Her work has also been presented internationally, including in Israel, Italy, Poland, and Armenia.