Prominent Istanbul Biennial to feature artist Vajiko Chachkhiani

Artist Vajiko Chachkhiani has been selected to exhibit his work as part of the internationally anticipated Istanbul Biennial later this year.

The Georgian artist is part of the list of 55 participants picked to represent 32 countries at the event recognised alongside leading art biennials in Venice, Sao Paulo and Sydney.

It will be this year’s second major event for Berlin-based Chachkhiani, who was also featured at the Venice Biennale with his work Living Dog Among Dead Lions.

Chachkhiani (third from left) was among young artists featured in the Future Generation Art Prize in Kiev this year. Photo: PinchukArtCentre.

Istanbul will host the fair at six of its venues for two months from September 16–November 12.

Curated by artists and curators Elmgreen and Dragset, the 15th edition of the biennial will feature the concept of "a good neighbour”.

The artists in the 15th Istanbul Biennial raise questions about ideas of home, neighborhood, belonging, and co-existence from multiple perspectives.”

Some of the artworks examine how our domestic living conditions and modes have changed and how our neighborhoods have transformed, while others focus on how we cope with today’s geopolitical challenges on a micro-level”, said a preview by hosts.

The Istanbul Biennial is the most wide-ranging art exhibition held in Turkey and throughout the region.

Istanbul Biennial curators Elmgreen and Dragset. Photo: Muhsin Akgun/IKSV.

Held by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, the event uses exhibition model fostering a "dialogue between artists and the audience” based on the former's’ work, instead of the more traditional national representation model.

Launched in 1987, the fair is designed to "create a meeting point in Istanbul in the field of visual arts between artists from diverse cultures and the audience”.

Born in Tbilisi, Vajiko Chachkhiani is a graduate of the German capital’s University of Arts as well as Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Amsterdam.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Rubens Promotional Award of the Contemporary Art Museum Siegen.

Earlier this year, he was featured for the Future Generation Art Prize, promoted as "the first global art prize” for artists aged up to 35, at PinchukArtCentre venue in Kiev.