Works of iconic Georgian painter exhibited in London after 20 years
Levan Lagidze is returning to London for the first time in 20 years with a major exhibition. Photo: Tako Meskhi
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Katrine Levin Galleries in London is hosting the exhibition of Levan Lagidze’s paintings, from 19 November to 8 December.
Levan Lagidze, an iconic Georgian painter, is returning to London for the first time in 20 years with a major exhibition of new works.
Lagidze is known for his abstract paintings and philosophical approach to art. He is sought-after in the international art world, but he always prefers to exhibit exclusively in his own gallery in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi.
“I don’t want to surprise or shock you, I only want to share with you”, says Levan Laghidze while speaking about his paintings.
Katrine Levin Galleries is hosting the first major exhibition that the artist has agreed to outside Georgia for 20 years, to be held in London 19 November to 8 December 2018.
As Katrine Levin describes Levan Lagidze’s paintings, they are deep, vibrant, and textured. His art shares experience through abstraction, connecting to universal narratives such as landscape and urbanisation.
“It is said that painting is the art of showing colour – but to me, it is the art of hiding colour. Colour needs to be hidden in order to entice the viewer into searching deeper”, adds the painter.
The exhibition will present 25 recent paintings created specifically for the London showing.
Spring. After the Rain, 2018
Born in 1958, Lagidze graduated from Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1981 and worked in themes including early urbanism as well as biblical themes including The Prodigal Son and abstract perspectives.
In the 1980s Lagidze established a creative arts studio within the Tbilisi Painter’s House, hosting workshops and offering free workspace to emerging artists.
With the same goal of creating a venue for artists he launched the Tbilisi-based Lagidze Gallery in 2011, which hosts exhibitions, presentations and talks in Georgia’s capital.
Fields, 2017
Lagidze’s own works can be found in collections of venues including the Tretyakov Gallery and the Modern Art Museum in Moscow and Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in the United States.
The painter has also featured in exhibitions at venues including the Modern Art Museum in Kuwait City in Kuwait, Artbull Gallery in London and TMS Gallery in Tbilisi.
Previously, untitled painting of Levan Lagidze was sold to an undisclosed collector for $31,250, after it was auctioned within Lot 65 at tNew York’s Shapiro Auctions in June 2017.
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Works by one of Georgia's prominent living painters, Levan Lagidze, are back on display in London for the third time in as many years, with Katrine Levin Galleries displaying a selection of his creations over the next week and a half.