Contemporary Istanbul 2016

Presented artists: Maka Batiashvili, Irakli Bugiani and Beso Uznadze

Maka Batiashvili (B. 1975, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Batiashvili accomplished her Bachelor degree in Fine Art at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1997 and since then, she lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Batiashvili works in graphical drawing, oil painting, photography and film. Her exuberant work depicts scenes from the everyday. Through the subject matter, Batiashvili poses questions around the existential issues of life and death. In her work the everyday life resembles a playground, where various scenes are being performed. Ostensibly unmediated figures and the intense color scheme in Batiashvili's work share stylistic tendencies with the early modernist painting traditions of Georgia and Europe. Batiashvili's practice is an interesting cross between the traditional and the contemporary painting, developing the well-established tradition of painting popular in the republic of Georgia.
Maka Batiashvili lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Selected solo and group exhibitions:
2015 - Playground, TBC Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia; Exhibition of Georgian Painters, Contemporary Art Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; 2013 - Untitled, Arundel Gallery, Arundel, UK; 2012 - Untitled, Industrial Gallery, Ostrava, the Czech Republic; 2011 - Black and White, Tbilisi History Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia; 2008 - OFF EUROPA Festival, Leipzig, Germany; Photography Exhibition, National Museum, Atlanta, USA.


Irakli Bugiani (B. 1980, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Bugiani accomplished his studies in Fine Art at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 2001. Since then he studied at Ecole des Beux Arts in Rouen, France, at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe, Germany and received MA in Art History at the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany in 2010.

Bugiani works in painting and collage. His works depict interiors and exteriors of architecture empty of human presence. The abstract imagery composed with rough strokes of oil on canvas combined with application, leave an impression of the yet unfinished work in process. The impressionistic landscapes, seascapes and washed out portraits compose the exploration into the fictional and the historical facts of one's memory. The combination of the subject matter and the working style evoke an unsettling ambiguity.
Irakli Bugiani lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Selected solo and group exhibitions:
2016 - To See a World in a Grain of Sand, organized by Project ArtBeat, GNM, Georgian National Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia. 2015- Ausstellungseröffnung: 191°S, WELTKUNSTZIMMER, Dusseldorf, Germany; Kunstpunkte 2015, Dusseldorf, Germany; Heritage, RICHMIX Arts Centre, London, UK; 2014 -Crossing the boundaries, AT388, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2013 - Kunstpreis Junger Westen 2013, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Recklinghausen, Germany; 2012 -  Post Coitum Omne Animal Triste Est,Damenundherren e.V., Dusseldorf, Germany; 2011 - Zwischen Gestern und Morgen, Gallery 10, Karlsruhe, Germany. 


Beso Uznadze (B. 1968, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Uznadze, mostly works on photo portraits, reportage and through thematic photo series. He takes his inspiration from ordinary feelings and incidents which make up daily life: melancholy, happiness, love, separation, sex, fear and death. Uznadze's work is dominated in particular by portraits of people whom he has encountered in his immediate surroundings. Through them he narrates their stories, dreams and fears. To date his photo series include: 2B, In the Mood for Love, Don’t Wake Me, Tbilisi Portraits, Georgians in the UK, Broadway Market.
Beso Uznadze lives and works London, UK.

Selected solo and group exhibitions:
2016 START Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK,. 2016 KONTAKTPHOTOS, Black & White Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia; 2015 Un Homme, Chapitre III, Galerie Hors-Champs, Paris, France; 2014 Artisterium, Tbilisi, Georgia; 2011 Tbilisi photo Festival, Tbilisi, Georgia; 2011 Les Rencontres De La Photographie, Arles, France; 2010 Artisterium, Tbilisi, Georgia; 2009 The International Festival of Photography, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy; 2008 Taylor-Wessing Photographic Competition, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK; 2004 Schweppes Photographic Competition, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK.