Luka Abazashvili 'First Exhibition'

For me, oil painting becomes a way of thinking rather than illustrating. My works are built slowly through layers of paint applied, covered, erased, and reworked. Because of this, the surface of each painting remains active, carrying traces of its own making. What we see is not a single moment, but a record of change, decisions, and revisions.

The exhibition brings together a series of figure-based compositions. These works reflect different moments of human experience states of presence, emotion, and attention. While some images may suggest specific historical periods, they are not tied to exact times or places. Instead, they exist in a kind of in-between space where past and present overlap. This creates a feeling that the figures belong to multiple times at once, or to no fixed time at all.

In many of the paintings, the figures are not fully stable or clearly defined. They appear, fade, and sometimes almost disappear into the surface. This effect comes from the way the paintings are constructed, but also from my use of colour. I often work with what could be called “problematic” or difficult colours, combinations that are not traditionally harmonious. These colours create tension within the image, making it less about clear representation and more about perception and atmosphere.
Colour in these works does not simply describe reality. Instead, it shapes how the viewer experiences the image. It can bring a figure forward or push it back, clarify it or obscure it. Because of this, looking at the paintings becomes an active process. The viewer is invited to spend time with the surface, allowing forms to slowly emerge rather than immediately revealing themselves.
The serial nature of the work is also important. Each painting can be seen on its own, but it also connects to the others as part of a larger ongoing investigation. Together, they form a body of work that is not trying to give clear answers, but to explore questions about how we see, how we remember, and how images are constructed.

“First Exhibition” is not only an introduction to me as an artist, but also an entry point into this process. It presents painting as something alive and unfinished, something that continues to develop through time, both in the studio and in the experience of the viewer.