The Georgian artist Igor
Mazharovich Tcholaria lived and worked in Belgium for
many years. He collaborated with major galleries in Belgium,
Holland, England, Luxembourg, and the United States of America. He
participated in dozens of general and personal exhibitions around
the world.
The work of the Georgian artist is
characterized by a combination of an ultra-modern approach to
painting with a deep understanding of the techniques and traditions
of old European masters. The motifs of the French avant-garde and
impressionist artists of the early twentieth century are not alien
to him.
Igor Tcholaria attaches great importance
to the preliminary processing of the canvas. The pictorial layers of
the lining often represent independent works of abstract painting in
the spirit of Cezanne's layers, Pollack's multi-vector tricks, and
Rothko's warm and mysterious halftones. Thanks to this work, a kind
of artist's know-how, Tcholaria's canvases live, breathe and supply
the owner with positive energy, so necessary for a human being in
our turbulent and difficult times.
True avant-garde is archaic - Tcholaria
claims. It is not for nothing that Pablo Picasso turned to
prehistoric examples of cave paintings in search of forms.
Igor Tcholaria also adheres to the
glorious tradition. In his improvisations, he masterfully maintains
a high note of inspiring nostalgia. No matter how sophisticated the
inventors of various concepts are, painting is the result of an
impressive combination of forms and colours. Let us not forget that
having created a world of incredible complexity, the Lord
laconically limited himself to two words of commentary.
IT IS GOOD - said God.
BIOGRAPHY
'I was born in 1959, in the Black Sea coastal town of Ochamchiri in
the Caucasus. My father was a farmer and my mother, a court
secretary. My childhood was fun. We climbed mountains. When the
river flooded, we built small dams and staged pirate fights.
However, life, on the whole, was fairly patriarchal, and so the
biggest event of the year was when the Moscow Circus came to town.
The animals, clowns in their vibrant costumes, and agile acrobats
fired my imagination and became favourite characters of many of my
paintings.
My artistic skills were noticed at school and I gained a place at
the Sukhumi School of Art. In those days getting in there was quite
competitive and the teachers were excellent. Far away from the
strictures of capital life, we were taught about artists who did not
enjoy official approval. It was there that I first discovered and
came to love great early-20th century French art. My teacher, the
artist Givi Ghergaya, had a huge influence over me.
After graduating from the Sukhumi School, I continued my studies at
St Petersburg’s Mukhin Institute, but spent just as much time at the
Hermitage, studying and copying the Impressionists and European Old
Masters.
When perestroika started, I became one of the first artists doing
street portraits. I was spotted by a gallery owner from Italy where
I was to put on my first solo shows. Next followed invitations to
Robinsons, a leading gallery in the Belgian town of Knokke, and my
collaboration began with Dutch gallery owner Mark Peet Visser. I
also exhibited at celebrated dealer Roy Miles’s London gallery. Over
the past 25 years I have taken part in a great many international
shows in various countries, as well as in Moscow.
My artworks are now in collections all over the world, including
those of celebrities such as Luciano Pavarotti, Jean-Pierre Richard,
Gérard Depardieu, Madonna, and John Galliano, well-known sports and
business personalities, and simply art lovers. I also succeeded in
winning an international competition and painted two vast panels for
the world’s largest cruise liner, the Queen Mary 2.'
Igor Tcholaria
This is the
ceremony where the president of Russian Academy of Art gives to Igor
Tcholaria the diploma of the honour membership in the Academy.
The list of exhibitions:
1988: Private Galleries. Moscow-Leningrad-Tbilisi-Sukhumi,
USSR.
1988: Central Exhibition. Leningrad, Russia.
1988: Central Exhibition. Tbilisi, Georgia.
1988: Central Exhibition. Sukhumi, Abkhazia.
1990: Art Gallery “PALITRA”. Leningrad, Russia.
1990: Central Hall. Leningrad, Russia.
1990: Biennale Modern Art. Leningrad, Russia.
1990: Gallery ”PIACENTA”. Italy.
1991: Gallery ”PIACENTA”. Italy.
1991: “Gallery 47”. London, England.
1991: Art Gallery “PALITRA”. Leningrad, Russia.
1991: “ART-MYTHZ”. Moscow, Russia.
1992: City Hall. Athens, Greece.
1992: Gallery “MATEL SANAT”. Turkey.
1992: Gallery “CRATS”. Shtetsin, Poland.
1993: Central Hall. St.-Petersburg, Russia.
1993: Museum Modern Art. Utrecht, Nederland.
1994: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
1995: Art Gallery “ROBINSON”. Knokke, Zoute Belgium.
1995: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
1996: Miart. Milan, Italy.
1996: Art Gallery “ROBINSON”. Knokke Zoute, Belgium.
1996: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
1996: Gallery “FLESSER”. Helsinborg, Sweden.
1996: Gallery “ Asger Maariensson”. Lund, Sweden.
1997: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. Heusden, Nederland.
1997: “Classic V”. Kortrik, Belgium.
1997: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
1997: Art Gallery “ROBINSON”. Knokke Zoute, Belgium.
1998: Roy Miles Gallery. London, England.
1998: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
1999: Art Gallery “ROBINSON”. Knokke Zoute, Belgium.
1999: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
2000: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. Heusden, Nederland.
2000: Peace and Colour Gallery. London, England.
2000: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
2000: Art Gallery “ROBINSON”. Knokke Zoute, Belgium.
2000: Bloxham Gallery. London, England.
2001: Alla Bulyanskaya Gallery. Moscow, Russia.
2001: Peace and Colour Gallery. London, England.
2001: “ART-LONDON-2001”. London, England.
2001: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
2001: Utrecht-International. Utrecht, Nederland.
2001: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. Heusden, Nederland.
2002: Vinizki Gallery. Munchen, Germany.
2003: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
2003: Utrecht-International. Utrecht, Nederland.
2003: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. Heusden, Nederland.
2003: Edem Gallery. London, England.
2004: Lineart. Gent, Belgium.
2004: Utrecht-International. Utrecht, Nederland.
2004: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. Heusden, Nederland.
2004: Monastirly Gallery. St-Petersburg, Russia.
2005: Alla Bulyanskaya Gallery. Moscow, Russia.
2005: “ART-LONDON-2005”. London, England.
2005: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. Heusden, Nederland.
2005: Realism ’05, Art Fair. Amsterdam, Nederland.
2006: Alla Bulyanskaya Gallery. Moscow, Russia.
2006: Realism ’06, Art Fair. Amsterdam, Nederland.
2007: Alla Bulyanskaya Gallery. Moscow, Russia.
2007: Realism ’07, Art Fair. Amsterdam, Nederland.
2008: Realisme’08. Amsterdam, The Nederlands
2008: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Nederlands
2009: Realisme’09. Amsterdam, The Nederlands
2009: Art and Antiques Fair. ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Nederlands
2009: Millionaries Fair. Moscow, Russia
2009: Sokol Fine Art at the Hay Hill Gallery. London,
England
2009: Sokol Fine art at the Oriel Gallery. Dublin, Ireland
2009: Open art Art Fair. Utrecht, The Nederlands
2009: Gallery Mark Peet Visser. ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Nederlands
2010: Realisme’10. Amsterdam, The Nederlands
2010: Art and Antiques Fair. ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Nederlands
2010: Open art Art Fair. Utrecht, The Nederlands
2011: Art and Antiques Fair. ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Nederlands
2011: Reflection of love, Natasha-Li Gallery. Helsinki,
Finland
2011: Art Utrecht. Utrecht, The Nederlands
2012. Gallery Mark Peet Visser. s – Hertogenbosch, the
Nederlands.
2012. Lineart, Gent, Belgium.
2012. Usupov Palace, Cholaria Gallery, Moscow.
2014 Colourful Russian Music, World Museum, Rotterdam, the
Nederlands.
2014 Hay Hill Gallery, Solo Exposition, London.
2014 Creutzberg I Van Dun Gallery, Solo Exposition,
Osterwijk, Holland.
2015 Creutzberg I Van Dun Gallery, Solo Exposition,
Osterwijk, Holland.
2015 Art Fair Rosmalen, Holland.
2015 Winter group show. Hay Hill Gallery, London.
2015 Personal exhibition. Goers Gallery of Fine Arts,
Luxemburg.
2016 Netherlands Veghel Bienalle
2017 Holland Van Loon Galleries
2018 Вelgium, Knokke, Animamix Gallery,
personal exhibition
2019 Netherlands Veghel Bienalle
2020 New York Galerie Mourlot
2022 Russian Museum, St-Petersburg, Russia
2023-2024 Robinsons Art Gallery,
Knokke-Zoute - Belgium
2024 Vienna, Austria
2026 Murom Historical and Art Museum, Murom, Russia
2026 Contemporary Art Gallery, Kazan, Russia
Igor's
works are in the collections of Anthony Hopkins, Madonna, John
Galliano, Gérard Depardieu, Pierre Richard, Luciano Pavarotti,
cruise liner the Queen Mary 2, Volvo company, Philips company, and
many other collectors from all over the world.
The Cover of
Russian Museum Catalogue 2022 of Works by Igor Tcholaria