Art Palace quilt display set to celebrate award-winning artist Maka Shanidze

Works by award-winning artist Maka Shanidze will introduce Tbilisi locals and visitors to the art of quilting with a week-long display at the city’s Art Palace museum venue starting this Saturday.

With around 20 exhibits made using the art of sewing together multiple layers of fabric, the internationally recognised Georgian artist will hold her first exhibition in Tbilisi.

Designed to familiarise local audience with the state of contemporary quilting, the event is titled Georgia on My Mind and will exhibit works created by Shanidze since 2000.

Shanidze’s quilt work ‘Lanterns’. Photo: Quiltessence/Facebook.

The Tbilisi museum said the selected collection has earned "international recognition” for the artist who first discovered the western quilting art in the 1990s in Australia.

Learning about the technique and design for creating quilt artwork, Shanidze began creating her own work in 2004.

[At first it] was only a hobby but it soon developed into an obsession. I enjoy everything about making quilts, the designs, the search for fabrics, the piecing and putting it all together, the whole process”, said the artist in her introduction to social media users.

The artist will seek to introduce local art enthusiasts to the contemporary art of quilting. Photo: Art Palace.

Shanidze described her quilts as "based off classic designs” with inspiration "from more contemporary sources”.

The artist has featured in international exhibitions including the World Quilt Exhibition in 2009 and 2010 in the United States as well as displays in Japan and Australia.

A work by Maka Shanidze. Photo: Quiltessence/Facebook.

A former member of Australia’s NSW Quilters’ Guild and American Quilter’s Society, Shanidze is a recipient of prizes including the 2010 Pieroth Japan Award at the Japan Quilt Grand Prix and Second Place of the 2011 Quilt Show.

The Georgian artist has also published articles on quilting and textile art based on her experience in the field.

The Art Palace display featuring works by Shanidze will run through July 15.