In the past I have written blogs on two artists, the Colombian painter, Fernando Botero and the English artist, Beryl Cook whose figurative work has a similarity in the way their characters are depicted.
The Dancers by Fernando Botero (1987)
The Lockyer Tavern by Beryl Cook (1974)
Artwork comes in many shapes and forms. To many, paintings range from magnificent to questionable, but it is all about “we like what we like”. The artist I am looking at today has produced art which I would term eccentric and yet I cannot help liking it. Let me introduce you to the Georgian artist Emzari Kiknavelidze.
Emzari Kiknavelidze.
Emzari Kiknavelidze was born on August 1st 1964 in the Western Georgia town of Zestafoni. At the age of fifteen he studied sculpture for four years at the M. Toyadze Art School in Tbilisi and later studied architecture at the Institute of Architecture in Tbilisi from 1986 to 1991. Maybe it is the fact that Emzari initially studied sculpture that led to the figures in his paintings being solid and sculpture-like and the background of his works often have a structural feel to them.
His life and thus his identity became a merging of two cultures – that of his homeland Georgia where he studied and remained until 1986 and the Ukrainian city of Odesa where he went to live and remains, which has a resonant tradition of theatricality, humour, cosmopolitanism and figurative art. His career has been closely associated with this city. His paintings are described as lyrical genre works, with a strong emphasis on people, relationships, everyday life and expressive imagery. They combine a distinctly Georgian warmth and lyricism, while Emzari’s characters and settings can possess something of the colourful, theatrical atmosphere associated with the Ukrainian city.
One particular theme depicted in his paintings shows his fascination with “ordinary” professions and human activity which comes across in his compassionate depictions of tailors and other craftspeople. His figures are nothing like photographic or realistic images but more those which lean towards typical cartoon-like figures often with extended comical dimensions. In his depictions it is often the clothing worn by his figures and the vivid colours which is what we notice first. There is a simplicity about his figures, almost an amusing naivete which attracts most viewers to his work.
Since moving to Odesa Emzari believes he has been inspired by the city and its culture and says:
“…I think that such paintings can only be made in Odesa. Everything that surrounds you here helps to do it: atmosphere, aura… It’s not like I sit down and make up a new story, but something catches my eye and stays with me somewhere deep inside. It constantly lives there, transforms, and ripens. Then, with time, it comes out, often in a quite modified form. And, apparently, this process of modification is called creativity…”
my daily art display 