Exhibition set to celebrate Georgia’s first female sculptor Nino Tsereteli

A Tbilisi display will mark 115 years since the birth of Georgia’s first female sculptor Nino Tsereteli starting this Thursday, with works and personal items of the artist to be exhibited in Georgia’s capital.

The month-long exhibition will highlight sculptures, sketches for theatre costumes and drawings by Tsereteli at the Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts.

The event is designed celebrate the legacy of the avant-garde artist who broke into the local scene in the 1920s.

A bust sculpture created by Tsereteli and selected for the exhibition. Photo: Georgian National Museum.

Educated under the tutorship of Iakob Nikoladze, the founder of the contemporary Georgian sculpture art, Tsereteli became known for her works in the portrait genre.

A preview for the exhibition from the Georgian National Museum said Tsereteli’s works were "distinguished by remarkable intimacy and lyricism" while reflecting influences of her studies under Nikoladze.

Known for sculptures pushing the boundaries of the conservative standards of the late 1920s Soviet Georgia, Tsereteli also created monuments of public figures including famed theatre director Kote Marjanishvili.

Sketches and drawings by Tsereteli will also be on display at the Museum of Fine Arts. Photo: Georgian National Museum.

One of the pioneering Georgian female artists, she also worked in theatre design, including a collaboration with fellow avant-gardist Petre Otskheli.

Theatre productions featuring her work included the opera Othello, while Tsereteli also created costume sketches for a 1931-1932 production of William Tell at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre.

Many of the creations by the sculptor were lost after her death in 1939, at the age of 37. Organisers of the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition said "nearly all” of her surviving works would be displayed at the display, set to run through July 29.