30.6.13

David Kakabadze at the Georgian National Museum










David Kakabadze belongs to the wave of Georgian artists who got to experience Paris in the beginning of 20th century. The 7 years the artist has spent there became crucial in the development of his style. Being part of Parisian life Kakabadze has soaked in the European spirit and is considered to be the 'most European' painter in Georgian Art History. Keeping up with the relevant European tendencies his oeuvre offers some very interesting cubist and abstract paintings. He is supposed to have pioneered the biomorphic abstraction.
Landscape plays crucial role in Kakabadze's oeuvre and especially the views of his home of Imereti. These canvases remind of the childhood sensations, saturated with warmth in the mind of an adult. Imereti-Mother is the most famous canvas from this series summarising Kakabadze's attitude, filled with dearest sentiments to the province of Georgia, Imereti.
Returned to the Soviet reality of Georgia, Kakabadze was forced to paint the hymns to Soviet Party, but the language of Socialist Realism was so alien to the fluid abstractions that constantly disapproved he was expelled from the academy as an unworthy lecturer.
The exposition at the Georgian National Museum has been curated by the artist's grandchild, Mariam Kakabadze, also in charge of the Kakabadze foundation. The aim of the exhibition as the curator explained was to portray the multi-faceted persona of David Kakabadze- the painter, researcher, inventor, set designer and photographer. The display is arranged thematically which can be seen as a new word in Georgian curating.
For Georgians David Kakabadze has become an emblem of the European past trampled by the Soviet army. Despite being such a pivotal figure for local modern art scene, this is the first retrospective of his. 



Self-portraits:






Some of the Imereti landscape paintings:

                                          Imereti-Mother






From Socialist Realism:






Biomorphic abstractions:

















Cubbist influences:








Photos of David Kakabadze:



Photo by David Kakabadze




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