MONUMENTAL ARTISTS IN TANDEM

The world is full of colours. Each of us has the possibility to select the colour we wish to colour it with. The world of Avtandil Gurgenidze and Giorgi Aptsiauri has been shaped in a combined creative effort preceding the exhibition entitled "Dialog" ["Dialogue"]. The title is a figurative one, behind which there lies a professional "conversation" between two personalities, two world outlooks, and painting in the fairly curious style of the artistic duet. The artists have been working together in tandem for nine years now, taking their works to many towns and cities and countries over this period.

Joint creativity

The idea of working together on their works came to them at one of their shared exhibitions. And, as very often happens, these creative people realised that their view of the world was similar in many ways. They are both keen on lengthy discussions, on joint reflections and verbal dialogues. So why not transfer all of that to the artist's canvas? That's just how it happened. They started off by discussing the idea that they had hit upon and then transferred it to the canvas. The effect appeared to be interesting not only to themselves, but to their fellow artists and then to the viewers, who have now been observing the development process of their creative works with interest. Each of the artists is well-known in Georgia. Each boasts his own professional reputation and enjoys his own popularity.

Therefore many people who have been observing the development of these attitudes to world outlook, trying every time to determine how much there was of Avtandil in each joint work and how much of Giorgi. Their first joint work appeared back in 1996. At that time, they were seeking out their own path, their own signature, their own individuality in the art of modern painting: they argued and they experimented. A fascinating but involved process of mutual understanding went ahead: in the artistic interpretation of the next idea, the joint composition of the subject, its embodiment in colour and, what is most important, the moment of transferring the much discussed idea onto the canvas with their own hands.

If you trace this process of mutual growth into each other's creative work, you can see the "difficulties" that they faced from a technical point of view. But this did not become a problem. On the contrary, it was most likely the engine of progress in their creative works. Whereas in the early works the difference in the author's signatures is noticeable, in today's works that fine line cannot be seen at all, perhaps just in the passion for colour. But in every new work it becomes increasingly difficult to grasp that instant. Works from different periods have been on display for Baku residents to judge. Each of them reflects the process of mutual penetration into the artistic idea of the other. The idea is like a mirror reflecting reality.

"The Gnome"

The face of the gnome peers out of the expanses of the universe as if from a children's fantasy. It has become an image collector for everyone who has come from childhood. From that happy childhood, sitting with Mummy with a book, the bed-side lamp by the head of the bed, and outside the window the snow is crunching under someone's steps or the crickets are singing.

"The Red Animal"

This work contains many metaphorical symbols. There is light and there is darkness. On the border between these worlds there is a red animal. We do not know what it is supposed to be. It is not important either. It is simply an animal which has to make a choice: what should it be? With what should it go, with the light or the darkness?

 "The Moon"

It is like a young girl who has enjoyed a million birthdays, but never became an old woman. First of all, she is interested in this strange planet called Earth! And always, when leaving its bounds in her half-moon state, she perspicaciously surveys her domains to see whether everything is there. And how will she find it after yet another birthday?

"Deer leap"

Nature's little fragile creation rushes through the air in the grip of the dynamic flow of divine love, to the limits of the sinful and suffering Earth. It rushes on, dragged by that current, right towards the head of a bird of prey. What awaits it there? It will be good if it is just another type of mentality… Then it will somehow be possible to stand up to it…

"An urban landscape"

The streams of white light like a spherical radiance, roll towards us, promising serene joy and harmony. Black clouds are gathering somewhere on the horizon, but they are not engendering fear. And here, at the very edge, in the foreground, woodland lakes have frozen, peppered with the eye-lash-like spruce needles. They have comfortably arranged themselves in a figure of eight, symbolising female strength.

"The Keeper"

A female figure in colour. Her attire is reminiscent of that of ladies in past centuries. She has covered herself with a red umbrella. The woman is walking along a road towards the town which does not belong to any specific epoch either. Where has that lady come from? If we recall that the umbrella was invented by the Chinese as a dome to protect people from the sun back in the 11th century, this points to the fact that even in our era ideas can be conveyed through these token-like symbols of the inseparable link between the times. The sun is shining in the vault of the heavens on the right. The sunlight lights up that space. An Angel, the Keeper of Life, the Keeper of History, the Keeper of the Times, is hovering between the stream of sunlight and mere mortals.

 "Dialogue"

The sun is shining in the azure expanse of the heavens above gloomy skyscrapers. Its streams of radiant joy are not at all well-disposed to investigating the blackness of the skyscrapers' concerns. Between the sun and the roofs of the structures a dove is hovering with its wings outstretched. In ancient times in the lands of the East the dove was regarded as a sacred bird, a kind messenger from the gods. For Christians this bird served as a symbol of the Holy Ghost and it was thought that it brought happiness. There is a legend about how little doves, the birds of the

goddess of love, Venus, built their little nest in the helmet of the god of war. So as not to disturb this idyll, Mars stopped the war. Thus, when looking at the picture, it seems that the dialogue is for us, the people on Earth, that dialogue is still possible. And we can still rectify everything in our life that the promoters of globalisation have lashed out with, encroaching on the most valuable thing that the people of Earth have, namely life.

Untitled Pictures

"The authors have left these works untitled. The artists prefer to leave the viewer the right to give them a title. We, the organisers of the exhibition, have given theoretical titles to their pictures to make working easier. It is the first time that we have been to Baku, the first time we have been to Azerbaijan and we like that. Artists are people who are greedy for impressions. I live in Ukraine, the artists in Georgia. But we are all here in Baku. I think it is remarkable that we can extend the boundaries of creativity, the boundaries of friendly contacts. The expanse of the artistic idea greatly facilitates this," the curator Nina Burnevich said. The eyes of the tall fragile girl in a dress with a Petrikovo pattern shone and lit up with a friendly smile.

She herself is an artist in her own right. She is engaged in applied art, having learnt the finer points of the Petrikovo murals. Petrikovo is a village in Ukraine near Dnepropetrovsk. It is famous because 230 of its 4,000 residents are artists. Nina, as a good-will ambassador and a person with a positive inclination, is focusing on developing contacts among artists and friendly ties. Applied art may become that dove of peace which is capable of bringing us all not just beauty, but understanding of one another as well. The dialogue is to be continued…

Avtandil Gurgenidze

Avatandil Gurgenidze was born in Tbilisi and studied music and art there. He is an artist, photographer and excursion guide. He has participated in numerous exhibitions in Georgia and other countries. The author of many Mural Art objects throughout the world, he has won numerous photography and art competitions. He is keen on monumental art, painting designs on the facades of weather and mountain ski stations high up in the mountains. The special feature of his works is bright colours, light and a positive mood.

Giorgi Aptsiauri 

Giorgi Aptsiauri was born in Tbilisi and studied art there. He has taken part in collective and solo exhibitions. He is both an artist and restorer. His works decorate all the art salons in Tbilisi. He is keen on monumental art, having decorated the fa?ade of the weather station high up in the Kazbek Mountains together with Avtandil Gurgenidze. The project has gone down in the history of their joint creative works entitled "Meteo" ["The Weather"].