"From Soviet memory to April 9"

The Georgian Museum of Fine Arts was one of the first to initiate the gathering of the second phase of Soviet art (the Thaw period).The works presented in this exhibition create an unconventional view of the Soviet system. Based on the museum's collection, a chronological narrative has been compiled, highlighting the following diverse artists and emphases:1. The traditions of socialist realism are preserved to a certain extent in Ketevan Maghalashvili’s art.2. Jibson Khundadze, the representative of the artists’ group — “Festival of Colours” completely rejected the school of socialist realism and replaced it with the European one.3. After David Kakabadze, Shura Bandzeladze was introduced to the Georgian painting formalism, the forbidden abstract painting.4. Artists who ran counter to the Soviet ideology and who were labeled as nonconformists are Temo Japaridze, Otar Chkhartishvili, Sergo Parajanov, and Vova Kandelaki.5. Two artists of the 1980s generation — Levan Chogoshvili and Irakli Parjiani oppose the Soviet system with works created on national-religious motifs. 6. A kind of post-Soviet analysis of Soviet reality is represented by the works of two artists: Oleg Timchenko and Tato Akhalkatsishvili. Bringing together artists of all generations and worldviews in one group exhibition highlights the fact that the Soviet Union was getting closer to its inevitable collapse every decade. And the 9th of April marked the historical point of this difficult era.   The perception of the Soviet era is enhanced by the exhibition's conceptual focus — contrasting visual accent on Soviet leader. Unidentified bust of Lenin is presented here. Soviet symbol — iconic bust is transformed into "historical fragment" in this exhibition. Soviet sculpture is in the center of the exhibition hall — as if the authentic bust itself should evaluate history from a critical standpoint.   The purpose of the exhibition is to raise the public's awareness of the Soviet past and, with a critical eye, to once again reevaluate the seemingly forgotten 70 years, the traces of which can still be seen in Georgia.   10:00 ⎯ 19:00Tuesday - Sunday