Interviews and articles

Gela Zautashvili – Artist on the Edge of Civilizations 

Ketevan Charkhalashvili

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: How would you estimate your art, its development and place in Georgian and world art history?

Gela Zautashvili: If we follow the history of modern Georgian art I am between those artists who entered the space of art in 80s. I am one of the interesting representatives of 80 years art. Exactly we made the first serious exhibition of abstractionism after long period; in this long period I mean epoch of artists who were acting in Paris: Kakabadze, Gudiashvili and etc. Together with me there were Gia Edzgveradze, Iliko Zautashvili, Luka Lasareishvili. It was very important event: it took place while communist regime, when arrangement of such kind of exhibitions was nearly impossible: even half-abstract paintings were not allowed on exhibitions, it was taboo and we defeated this taboo. In 1987, in Moscow, while the the period of so called “Perestroika” there was arranged group exhibition of abstractionist artists and it occurred that they were Georgian artists. It was serious event: the Ministry of Culture bought paintings. In journal „Советское Искусство” (Soviet Art), which was the most important journal about art, there was published long article of Olga Sviblova under the title “Грузинское Беспредметное Искусство” (Georgian Abstract Art) about our exhibition. I provoked serious response from abroad and diplomatic corps. The same year the same exhibition was arranged in Tbilisi but without paintings of Ilia Mgaloblishvili.    

It provoked the fact that in 1988 in Moscow there was arranged the Sotheby auction under the title: “Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde”. There took part the single Georgian painter Gia Edzgveradze and he made a successful career after this. It should be mentioned that the auction was remarkable with one queer thing: the Sotheby and Christy auctions have such kind of system – they have experts who come to the country they are interested in and check and meet the unknown candidates and artists taking into account local famous art figures. They choose candidates and commission makes its choice. One of the experts was 25 years old Spanish woman who choose artists for auction, they were representatives of Russia, Georgia, some Ukrainian artists by nationality and painters from Tallinn. The Ministry of Culture of Soviet Union offered Russian painter Glazunov whose paintings were not in the chosen list of Sotheby. So the Sotheby was forced to represent Glazunov’s artworks on auction. The queer thing was that the President of Sotheby Lord Gauri bought 5-6 paintings of Glazunov and gifted to Soviet Union.

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: How would you estimate the art market now in Georgia?

Gela Zautashvili: I did have hopes and expectation the Karlo Kacharava could lead this issue and would create something important. I mean his ability as of art historian, art critic intellectual, manager, for the creation of the form of Georgian fine art. I think that Georgian art market simply doesn’t exist.  

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: How politics influences art market?

Gela Zautashvili: We don’t have market, the politics rules everything. When in Russia appeared so called ‘New Russians’ and when capitalism came to country they returned back emigrated Russian painters: bought them new houses, their paintings, gave all the possibility to live and work in Russia. In Georgia there also appeared some ‘New Georgians’ but it is closed circle and they are interested in relations with relatives, it is saloon circle. The Ministry of Culture is not working, there doesn’t exist the politics of culture. Before there was arranged the exhibition of Georgian artists in Amsterdam in the gallery “Cobra”. Today there is nothing like this happens.

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: Your art is in the edge of European and Asian cultures, philosophies. Are you pure Georgian artist?

Gela Zautashvili: Whatever artist is cosmopolitan he is carrier of Georgian talent, intellect and nobleness. I was such kind of from childhood: I was digging in literature, I was interested in more intellectual side of the issues and persons rather than emotional side. When I touched eastern world: India, China, Islam, Sufism, I was so interested that I tried to play games with Western and Eastern elements. I always say that so called New Art is a game. I don’t know who begun this game: maybe is begins from Picasso, Marcel Duchamp. We live in show time, everything is show, and unfortunately this is fact: the picture on canvas which is exhibited doesn’t provoke so much interest and emotions as video art, installation which destroys two dimensional space. The most famous Biennales are interested in conceptual art, performances rather than easel painting: there is little percentage of traditional easel paintings on Biennales.

The new generations is very interesting, they create many interesting things, new conceptions of art, with installation elements. In my opinion there is coming interesting generation but as for me I love picture, paintings.

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: What provokes the development of new art and what creates demand for conceptual art?

Gela Zautashvili: Artist creates what establishment demands from, it means that market creates art, but as for the true values - this is canvas, painting, this is true value. Time will estimate everything.

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: Will ever art return back to the aesthetics and values of Gioconda?

Gela Zautashvili: Marcel Duchamp was great because he painted mustache to Gioconda. He protested in the beginning of 20^th century what you mean in your question. Andy Warhol created the second icon: Marilyn Monroe. We now face abnormal triumph of materialism. No one knows what will be in art tomorrow. The human almost found God. It is impossible human to return back to Gioconda, this is absurd.

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: Does pop culture makes influence on fine art?

Gela Zautashvili: It is tough question. I can’t say clearly. The fine art has no other way but to use ways of expression that uses pop. Warhol said that big art is art which is sold well.

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: How would you be interested in tandem with pop culture?

Gela Zautashvili: The art of all kind if elite. Leonardo was working for Medici, Mozart for princes and not for peasants; this is rule that art belongs to little circle, we are talking about high art and not pop. Accordingly, even today artists defend this principle: all big artists, Jeff Koons and others create their art for little circle and not for masses.  

Ketevan Charkhalashvili: Does geopolitical location of Georgia influence on Georgian art and its condition?

Gela Zautashvili: This is exactly there is the main problem. On Venice Biennale Georgian artists were represented the last after Azerbaijan and Armenian artists, when it seems there is considered that Tbilisi is center of Transcaucasia. It happens because they are not interested in art. There are minimum 10 Georgian painters with world importance and who could be exhibited in world galleries. But if we think it seems logical after all the cataclysms we went through last 20 years and these cataclysms maybe mostly were provoked by our complicated geopolitical situation. 

   

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I Locked the Labyrinth…”  – Logic Against Cliché

 Davit Chikhladze

 Interview with Gela Zautashvili

Question: Your recent paintings, even this eastern and Tantric exhibition “Labyrinth,” in my opinion belongs to, so called occult, or for you it is simply sincerity about personal precious world? There exists semi-ironic term occult that unites culture and occultism, when the oeuvre of artist is concentrated on occult ideas.      

Gela Zautashvili: I am interested in this thematic only on the creative impulse level. In general, I am nourished with ideas, in art and in life. Here is adventure and game. This exhibition is honest for me. Early exhibition in Kopala gallery was brusque and that’s why it brought tension. I can’t stop on one thing. Artists, in general, tend to it. Earlier I was painting abstractions during ten years and this is absolutely new stage for me.  

Question: There are many signs, symbols and contexts. Your paintings have to influence on the beholder, or they should be read actively and with attention?

Gela Zautashvili:  There are paintings where you have to know canonic. For example, why goodness Kali puts her tongue out. Finally, does it have meaning whether beholder comprehends it or not.  In my life this is meditative period

Question: Illustrative and pathetic depiction of ideas is “sin” for the contemporary art. May be you wanted to go out from this boring and sterile monotony of modern art?  

Gela Zautashvili: I really love telling stories. I am uncommunicative in life and I do not speak it at all. I’m not going anywhere – only workshop and home. On another hand, I am not satisfied with sort of ascetic nature of modern art in material, its minimalism and reduction. I understand that’s new technologies have incredible possibilities, but I am old fashioned and I love paint and brush.  I prefer this.

Question: Did you have such kind of tantric content exhibition overseas?

Gela Zautashvili: Yes I had in Vienna and going to have in India, in Delhi. I have to seriously think about this exhibition concerning India. There are canonic rules that can’t be played. I want my attitude to be tender. In India there are valuable painters, better than me and they are sold for 10 times less money than me. May be not everyone is great, but I have to bring well thought out exhibition there.

Question: How much do your artworks cost?

Gela Zautashvili: 5 thousand dollars, nearly.

Question: There are two main sharp lines in your paintings, sex and existence. There are also moments depicting human violence and frustration together with gods. You want to say that life is very confusing and bad?

Gela Zautashvili: Life is fantastically good, beautiful and lovely. You mentioned the word sex. In Khajuraho seven temples are full with reliefs of Kamasutra scenes. You can’t imagine how little kids there narrate sexual histories of gods, with love and there is no even little obscenity in their narration. Here everyone lives in different dimension. Once I asked one boy how old he was and he begun to think about. Then he said, I have passport, so should be seventeen years old.

Question: The painting, where there is depicted Adam and Eve, outside women, prostitutes, sometimes with signs of fetishism or senility, seems they are outside of heaven. This is good or bad?  

Gela Zautashvili: I can say that west is sloughed up to its neck in mistakes. I can’t say this about east. When I say east I mean India as well as China. Besides, my artworks are simply hooligan game. If you remember this painting very well, there Eve has penis and what does it mean? Does anything mean anything? Once journalist asks Fellini – maestro, does this frame in the film mean this? And Fellini answers, what a good idea, I haven’t even thought about, yes you are right, he responded.

Question: In several painting there are inscriptions of famous western brands, it means that you want west to become part of this mystical eternity?

Gela Zautashvili:  Why not. Andy Warhol cut this door, when he turned familiar consumer environment into simulacrum.  It is tough to enter this door. You can only approach it. I tried too.

Question: In your painting there is often depicted vagina, unlike India where mostly there is depicted phallus, lingam, in which you represent Shiva. And, generally, female energy, intuition, irrational is repressed instead of male and forced. You want to show this?

Gela Zautashvili: It is interesting what you say. But lingam is never depicted without yoni. In India women are doing yoni form circles from manure of a cow and then they put them on each other, as lingam, this cult of yoni is quite hidden.

Question: Are there painters with such kind of contents?

Gela Zautashvili: Of course. Is not it in Beuys’s artworks? or in artworks of Polke or Clemente?  

Question: I think that in your oeuvre it is especially underlined. Are these paintings worship of the universe or search for solutions from labyrinth?  

Gela Zautashvili:  Both of them. Labyrinth is also the game.

Question: And what is it at the end of labyrinth?

Gela Zautashvili: A new stage. You can’t end the labyrinth.

Question: But it has the last room, is not it?

Gela Zautashvili: I locked labyrinth. And if you remember, in this painting I am standing outside of labyrinth.

Question: What is more important to be sincere or cool? It seems you risk, simply you want to stay sincere. What gives you strength to be so brave?

Gela Zautashvili: My decency. I excluded from my life promiscuity, drug abuse, drunkenness. Helena Blavatsky has said, it is necessary to properly sort objective articles to finally see - the only true world is subjective. If you are playing little bit and are sincere, it’s great.

Question: From these paintings one can think that you worship promiscuity?

Gela Zautashvili: Conversely, that’s why I place there faces of Dalai Lama and Buddha. Everything is logical, said Dalai Lama, when Tibet was lost and settled in India, homeland of Buddhism. I hang here the picture of Dalai Lama, together with acerbity.  

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Best Personal Exhibition of 2008

Davit Chikhladze

The most scandalous exhibition of 2008 year was the representation of the new series of artworks of Gela Zautashvili in art gallery “Kopala” that was opened in November. Its controversy is particularly interesting, as far as Gela Zautashvili, neither with the status nor with internal appeal did not need the scandal and shocking behavior.

The first abstract exhibitions and formation of nonfigurative art group in the second half of the eighties,   is connected with the name of Gela Zautashvili, that was followed by sensational exhibitions in Tbilisi and Moscow – sensational not because of empty challenge, but because of novelty and originality.  

After the years, on the exhibition arranged in 2008 in “Kopala” artist shows us that he seems bored with abstractionism and as everyone, he returns back to histories. But in different from well known tendency of our time, where returning to histories perceived as returning to mythologized fabulous stories or remains as obvious kitsch and hopeless entertainment, in new opuses of Gela Zautashvili there is researched the history of sexuality in a literary way. It begins with simple and happy kitsch reality and goes towards to possible solutions – dictatorial, imperative interpretations of libido or illumination.  

There is possibility that the crossroad of these two possibilities, as fateful choice, on the one hand, was giving even psychoanalytical coloring to the exhibition; but, on the other hand, was creating the guarantee of insurance to oneself from kitsch with fabulous plot in our simple, figurative time. Such kind of signs in the present context of contemporary painting may be most clearly is shown by Matthew Barney, when he with the language understandable to him, is talking to the modern beholder excited with popular mythos – talks to it, actually, about Dadaism, only with classical or people’s, Harry Potter’s mythos picture-icons.   But if aesthetics of Barney doesn’t seem to be as literary, however, their followers can very easily turn into the sort of Paolo Coelho fan-club, where witchcraft is the most pioneering and dreamy achievement.    

In Gela Zautashvili artworks, in spite of literary descriptive character of his exhibition, the choice is truly tough, but efficient. Here exactly choice is the main component, as deep moral and aesthetic value.   

Sometimes, as it is seen with empirical material, scandal is always connected with sexual themes, even when this sexuality is only mannered surface and shocking behavior.  Essentially, superficial and narcissistic sexuality, even if it is indecent, is more tolerable for public opinion and social cliché treats it with more tolerant approach. And often, sounds paradoxical, but treats it as ally.  

With indexes collected on this exhibition, that were indicating on tantric depths of sexuality, Gela Zautashvili seems was showing the way that perfectly was described by Wilhelm Reich in his researches – the way that can be expressed with beautiful films of Pier Paolo Pasolini or modernized theological searching of Helena Blavatsky or neuro-illumination of Timothy Leary. Briefly, here there are represented controversial figures, that are perceived as leftist not only in sociology of modern culture, but even in antique India would be considered as tantrists of the left way. This is the way that was perceived by Wilhelm Reich as single solution from emotional plague that is equally widely spread in rich or poor countries of the world and that by short definition is called taboo of sexual energy.

Also the structure of the paintings were created with the type of mandala, with symmetrical, mirror reflections, with two dimensional space, harshness of ritual working sketch and texture of herbal dye on Indian or Tibetan thangka fabric. The portraits of famous thinkers were represented on the background of pictures of Kamasutra and visionary sexual magic, as on ornamental matrix.   On the forehead everyone had divine loka or heaven, where dream like god was talking with his own goddess, let’s say under the tree or near riverside, as Rama and Sita.    

It was literary, that behind heights of western thinking here was seen the mysterious commencement of east. Also there was seen all the great achievements connected with alchemic secret that makes human body, libido and subconscious strange ally for us.

What caused the breaking into the exhibition of Protestants, raid and terrorizing of exhibits, we don’t know and is not really very interesting. More true is the fact that Gela Zautashvili with this exhibition, like Wilhelm Reich or Pier Paolo Pasolini found the real bacillus of this emotional plague. This exhibition was held in the frame of “Artisterium”, on the background of loaded art events and personally I had big chance not to reach there, because I met 2-3 people who strongly advised me not to see the exhibition. When I asked why, they couldn’t answer, “not very good, kitsch,” they used to respond. So according to their answer and tone I guessed that I had to see exhibition and I was right. However, one of the exhibits, victim of the raid, already was not there – collection of modern or old famous public figure women and their vaginas. And really, to put it mildly, the modern world revolves around woman, more precisely – around this piquant fear.