London enjoys rare glimpse of paintings by Georgian artists

A group of Georgian artists are presenting their works at an art fair in London’s famous Saatchi Gallery alongside other projects from world renowned artists at a highly curated three-day contemporary art exhibition.

Tbilisi-based Project ArtBeat – a start-up uniting 22 artists working in various visual arts genres – has four of its artists represented at the START Art Fair, which opened yesterday.

Tato Akhalkatsishvili, Maka Batiashvili, Irakli Bugiani and Sopho Chkhikvadze exhibited their works in what was described as an "intimate” event by www.artnet.com. 

Art critics said the works by the four Georgian artists were noted for their quality and distinctive place among various pieces: 

”With their naïve colours and primitive brushstrokes, Batiashvili's small canvases elicit an immediate pleasure and response that seems miles away from the rarefied and conceptual artworks that populate many contemporary art fairs,” artnet.com commented on Batiashvili’s works.

START Art Fair organisers said the exhibition aimed to "shine a spotlight on emerging artists and new art scenes”. 

Fair director Niru Ratnam described the occasion as a "fair to discover five or six artists that you might have never heard of before from art scenes you might not be familiar with”.

Hot by Maka Batiashvili. Photo by Maka Batiashvili Studio.

The exhibition is split into two parts; with 38 galleries from various international cities presenting their rosters while the START Projects section showcases art within a non-commercial exhibition.

Prices for pieces presented at the START Art Fair are deemed to be in the "moderate” range, with prices ranging between £2,000 (7,300 GEL) to £20,000 (74,000 GEL).

The fair will continue until Sunday, September 13.

Find out more about the schedule of events at the fair on the official website here.