April 25,2008
Ana Tsimintia
Georgia Today

Elene Akhvlediani, a famous Georgian painter, started her works in the early decades of twentieth century, just as the other artists of her generation – David Kakabadze, Lado Gudiashvili and Keto Magalashvili.

These masters’ achievements, based on the legacy of national and European cultures, have largely determined the distinctive features of Georgian modern art and haven’t lost their importance to this day.

The interests of Akhvlediani were diverse and included painting, drawing, stage and costume design and book illustration. But she has gone down in the history of Georgian art as, above all, a master of landscape painting. Especially prominent in her art are the views of Tbilisi, the city in which she lived for many years and loved as her own, even though the artist spent her childhood in a small and quite provincial town.

Akhvlediani created a significant segment of Georgian painting and not only painting; she was actively involved in book illustration and decorative works at the Marjanishvili theatre. Having left a considerable heritage, Elene, born in 1898, passed away in 1975.

April 18 was an important date related to Akhvlediani: it was her birthday. Several events, mostly exhibitions, were open in the city to celebrate the painter’s 110th anniversary.

One of them, probably the warmest, was hosted by Elene Akhvlediani’s Museum on 12 Kiacheli Street. At about 4 in the evening, the artist’s closest people and a few adorers of her art gathered in the museum that used to be Elene’s home. The space was quite occupied with people, but the pleasant atmosphere that always exists in this museum still wasn’t lost. The official, but very interesting part of the evening, was an exhibition of Akhvlediani’s graphic works. These works are completely unknown for the audience, as they have never been exhibited before. 50 works made in Paris are already available in the museum and it is really interesting to observe a different style and configuration of the artist’s work while having a chance to compare them to the famous artworks also exposed in the same museum.

Apart from the “home based exposition” on the same day, the Marjanishvili theatre opened an exhibition presenting Elene Akhvlediani’s theatre works. Marjanishvili theatre keeps a unique collection of theater decorations, and Elene’s pieces are central between others. As the coordinator of the theatre mentioned, some of these early works, which the painter created after her return from Paris, are included in the catalogue of the Marjanishvili theatre, so not all of them are fresh for the viewers, but the current exposition displays a complete collection of these works, which is why this is a nice chance to discover something new about Akhvlediani’s art. The exhibition presents around100 drawings for 26 plays, while throughout her life she decorated 75 plays.

It is pretty delightful to see that talented authors are being respected even after a long time from their death, but what really amazes one about Akhvlediani is her productivity. Although her works are frequently exhibited in Georgia, there still are some new creations that have been never seen by the viewers eye before. This interesting personality, often considered a symbol of Tbilisi, remains relevant and adored even today.