CREATIVITY WITHOUT BORDERS

There is no place for the official in art, but sometimes even the official can help it. Such was the case this time, thanks to which our well-loved neighbour Georgia is becoming even more accessible - not only territorially, but also culturally. The National Museum of Arts of Azerbaijan hosted the opening of an exhibition of Georgian artists. This came right after the signing of an agreement to broaden ties between the National Museum of Georgia and The National Museum of Arts of Azerbaijan. After the signing ceremony those present could take a look at the pictures presented at the exhibition. 

As we all know, Georgia is known for its rich painting and visual art traditions. The historical roots of the Georgian school go back to ancient Colchis and to medieval frescos. New features were introduced to traditional art by the well-known Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani (Pirosmanishvili); by David Kakabadze, who lived and worked in Paris in the 1920s; by Elena Akhvlediani, Lado Gudiashvili and others who set up close ties with the art of Western Europe.

In the 1950s a number of artistic schools, such as the avant-garde Arkhivarius and Desyatiy Etazh groups, as well as several individual masters took on an artistic credo that radically differed from the generally accepted one, which reflected the process of modern art and played a large part in the formation of new visual forms.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Georgian artists, like their European colleagues, keenly felt the need for new human ideals. This, we note, is one of the significant directions of modern art, something often expressed not by specific images, but by concepts. Like no one else, modern artists in their trademark manner express their concern for global problems - the breaking down of old values, the destruction of ideals, violence, absurd wars, social and economic misfortune. That is the main goal of modern art - to visually represent the social order by forms that go beyond traditional art. Artists believe that the way out of this tension is the preservation of eternal values. 

Modern Georgian art is like a mosaic made up of various tendencies in artistry. In terms of technique and semantics, the hallmarks of this art are distinctive for their avant-garde nature, one which never limits itself with boundaries.

The exhibition in Baku was devoted to only a part of national art, and in this case was unable to fit within itself all of Georgian modern art. Despite the contemporary tendencies in the works presented by Mamuka Tsetskhladze, Shalva Matuashvili, Omer Kachkachishvili, Jamal and Lasha Kukhalashvili, Aleksandr Berdishchev, Lana Turmanidze, Lado Tervoradze, one can sense experience and centuries-old art traditions in their pictures.

The works presented at the exhibition were remarkable for their variety. The techniques of painting, drawing, gouache, oil-panting, cartoon, abstract installations all came together into a kaleidoscope in which purely national motifs flickered: landscapes, quintessentially Georgian images, still-lifes and free abstract compositions with astounding expressiveness and warmth of colour.

Artist Aleksandr Berdishchev, represented mainly by abstract canvases, said that Baku made a strong impression on him, and that he hopes to find inspiration for new pictures here. Overall we can only be glad that the canvases of famous contemporary Georgian artists, many of whom exhibit their works in the galleries of Europe, have put them on display in Baku. Speaking of the condition of modern art in Georgia, Berdishchev complained that the country's economic woes have often forced art to commercialize itself, with many famous masters out of necessity creating pictures to suit the tastes of tourists (who, common wisdom holds, generally seek out piquant images rather than examples of high art.) The artist added, however, that he is glad that even among the younger generation there are those who value modern art and buy pictures for themselves. More than anything else Berdishchev is impressed by the artistic sweep of Western artists, whose works do not have well-worn forms or visual representations. 

In the worldview of Lana Turmanidze, an artist born in Georgia but who has lived in Germany for a long time, modern art is a concept without norms or criteria, one that is often therapeutic. The important thing is that young and old alike with equal pleasure give themselves over to such art. Which, of course, can also apply to our art-lovers: enjoying art without borders is, after all, like feeling like a bird in flight.