Tbilisi display to highlight works by sculptors Merab Merabishvili, Omar Eldarov

Works by two prominent Caucasian sculptors will be the subject of a new exhibition in Tbilisi, as the Museum of Georgia in the capital is gearing up to showcase creations by Merab Merabishvili and Omar Eldarov starting on Friday.

Visitors of the display will see photographs of monuments and sculptures created by the artists, with the exhibition being organised to contribute to deepening cultural relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan, the countries the artists hail from.

The two-week event is organised by the Association 'Cultural Dialogue XXI' and Georgian Cultural Foundation, with the Georgian National Museum and National Art Museum of Azerbaijan also part of the collaboration.

Azerbaijani sculptor Omar Eldarov. Photo: Georgian National Museum.

Merab Merabishvili and Omar Eldarov are widely recognised in their countries for monuments created since the 1960s that have become indistinguishable parts of the cities and towns they stand in.

Born in Georgia's capital, Merabishvili graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts and worked at the institution as teacher and professor as head of the painting department from 1991-2004.

Merab Merabishvili's monument of Russian playwright Alexander Griboyedov in Tbilisi. Photo: Georgian National Museum.

The Georgian sculptor created monuments and sculptures including that of Russian playwright Alexander Griboyedov in Tbilisi in 1961. The sculpture honouring the famed poet who had close personal ties with Georgia stands near the Uznadze Street on Mtkvari river embankment.

Merabishvili's works are also part of other capital cities, with his 2011 monument to Georgia's national 12th century poet Shota Rustaveli standing in Budapest, Hungary.

A statue of Azeri poet Fizuli by Omar Eldarov. Photo: entsyklopeedia.ee.

Omar Eldarov was born in Dagestan and graduated from the Ilya Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Russia.

His works include a 1962 sculpture of 16th century Azeri poet Fizuli in Baku, Azerbaijan and a monument of India's independent movement leader Mahatma Gandhi, created in 1987.

The exhibition of photographs illustrating works by the two sculptors will run at the Museum of Georgia through June 29.