Merab Abramishvili

Baia Gallery, Tbilisi

Tbilisi, TMS Gallery, Merab Abramishvili: The Abandoned Side, 2007
Tbilisi, Hobby Gallery, Merab Abramishvili, 2010
Tbilisi, Baia Gallery, Merab Abramishvili, 2012

Nina Shervashidze, Ed., Merab Abramishvili: Paintings, Graphics, Tbilisi 2010, p. 51, illustrated in colour 

Merab Abramishvili has a distinctive painting style; his thorough knowledge of Georgian fresco and Persian miniature painting have come together in his exquisite oeuvre. The artist has developed a particular painting technique that employs the early Christian panel painting method. He hand-prepared his plaster grounds and painted with tempera; washing off and repainting the surfaces several times, the translucent colour palette has becoming his trademark. The final glaze of egg yolk gives a warm tonality and smoothness to his panels. Abramishvili's paintings speak of a meticulous artist of strict discipline: a perfectionist.

The artist was exposed to Georgian frescos from a very early age and later would frequently accompany his art historian father on the expeditions. Abramishvili, enchanted by medieval art, produced studies of frescos while on those trips. He often described his oeuvre as an interpretation of icon painting. The noticeable two-dimensionality of his paintings is also inspired by the Christian imagery.

Abramishvili has recurring subject matters. He frequently works on the theme of Paradise and scenes from the life of Christ. His Paradise series is nostalgic for the absolute values that the artist's surroundings were deprived of. Central circular movement, as seen in the present lot, is characteristic of this series, symbolising eternity. The work follows an evident compositional symmetry; in this case the left side of the panel seems to be reflected onto the right. The divine harmony is inhabited by exotic animals. The white ground of the panel seems to shine through the browns of the animals, depriving them of physicality and materiality. They attain angelic lightness and translucence. There are angels on each edge of the panel, supposedly cherubs guarding the gates of Eden and the eternal tranquillity of the animals.

The art of Abramishvili is impregnated with the escapist sentiment. The intricate surfaces of mythological scenes, heavenly animals and rocking maidens are opposed to the turbulent surroundings of Post-Soviet Georgia. Abramishvili's canvases seem to offer an escape route to idealists, which developed into a trend for the artists of his generation. Instead of focusing on the turmoil of reality, these painters were concerned with universal truths and in Abramishvili's case, on harmonious compositional aesthetics that evoke sensations of serenity, kindness and steadiness.