Tbilisi showcases best of Caucasian artists

Georgia's capital Tbilisi is preparing to host a contemporary exhibition detailing the experiences and impressions of Caucasian artists in the post-Soviet reality.

Opening on November 25, the display Across the Caucasus will bring together five artists from countries across the region, who will each present their works at the Ioseb Grishashvili Tbilisi History Museum, also known as Karvasla.

The event will showcase art by Taus Makhacheva from Dagestan, Aslan Gaisumov from Chechnya, Azerbaijan's Ali Hasanov Armenia's Vahram Aghasyan and Georgia's Vajiko Chachkiani.

A work by contemporary artist Taus Makhacheva of Dagestan, who is part of the Tbilisi display. Photo from the Contemporary Art Gallery.

The artists will present works that tell the story of the effects of political and social transformation in the region since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The exhibition shows objects and videos that poignantly capture a life coming out of darkness, pending an unknown future," said curator Charles Merewether.

Instead of creating a unifying theme for the exhibition, organisers said it would highlight the differences in the artists' cultural backgrounds and current conditions.

All of the featured artists have been part of major international exhibitions and awarded for their creative work by local and international art institutions.

Taus Makhacheva's 2010 work 'Bullet'. Photo from the project Contemporary Art Gallery.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Taus Makhacheva graduated from the Goldsmiths College in London, the United Kingdom with a degree in fine art and a master's degree from the Royal College of Art. She has been awarded the 2014 Future of Europe prize at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Leipzig, Germany.

Aslan Gaisumov graduated from the Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow and currently studied at the Higher Institute for Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. He was awarded the 2014 Special Prize from the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kiev, Ukraine as well as the 2016 Innovation Prize from the National Centre for Contemporary Arts in Moscow.

Azerbaijan's Ali Hasanov is a graduate of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Art and has featured at displays held at Art History Museum in Vienna, Austria, the National Centre for Contemporary Art in Moscow and more.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Vahram Aghasyan has exhibited works at events including the 10th International Istanbul Biennial in Turkey, Museum Kiasma in Helsinki, Finland and the first Contemporary Art Biennial in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Vajiko Chachkhiani was born in Tbilisi but is currently based in Berlin, Germany. He is a graduate of Berlin's University of Arts and Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Chachkhiani is a recipient of the prestigious Rubens Promotional Award of the Contemporary Art Museum Siegen in Germany.

The exhibition Across the Caucasus is organised by the Georgian National Museum (GNM) within the project Contemporary Art Gallery.

The project "aims to support and promote contemporary art in Georgia and fosters opportunities for Georgian contemporary art to be shown locally, regionally and internationally," said its founders.

The exhibition will run at Karvasla until December 12.