Lost Paradise

Malkhaz Gorgadze

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17/04/21 - 25/05/21

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The Why Not Gallery is glad to present the first solo show by artist Malkhaz Gorgadze ‘Lost Paradise’. The exhibition acts as an introduction to the permanent exposition, which the artist will present at the ‘Marleta Farm’ in Telavi later this year.

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Malkhaz Gorgadze was born in 1941, Tbilisi to the family of artists Bidzina and Elene Gorgadze. After graduating from the Academy of Arts in 1965, a ceramicist by profession, Malkhaz Gorgadze, soon got involved in the city redevelopment projects. In different districts of Tbilisi, many of mosaic or relief panoramas, familiar to everyone were created by Malkhaz Gorgadze. However, few know that throughout his artistic career, he also created paintings and still actively continues to paint.

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The exhibition presents the artist’s works from the 1970s to the present day. Also displayed are tapestries woven according to the artist’s sketches. Monumental and mesmerising works that have been created over the 50 years are a celebration of exquisite shapes and colour schemes. These paintings, created with excellent knowledge of academic drawing, follow a single storyline – of idyllic, tropical landscapes and people lost in them; a sea of metaphors and allegories, philosophical discourses and existential questions, uncommon readings of biblical parables, references to the masters of art and a mysterious charm that makes an indelible impression on the viewer.

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The works radiate with powerful, inexhaustible, energy, a visual demonstration of Joie de vivre, of the spirit of his generation – that can be called the golden generation of the Soviet Georgia