Georgian Museum of Fine Arts ( ka, ქართული სახვითი ხელოვნების მუზეუმი) is a private

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

located on the

Rustaveli Avenue Rustaveli Avenue ( ka, რუსთაველის გამზირი, ''Rust'avelis Gamziri''), formerly known as ''Golovin Street'', is the central avenue in Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The avenue s ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

Georgia (country) Georgia (, ; ) is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, by Russia to the north and northeast, by Turkey to the southwes ...

. The construction broke ground in 2013 and is the only building in Georgia built purposely to house art exhibitions. The museum official opening was held on September 26, 2018, while it opened to the public on October 2, 2018. The museum houses over 3500 artworks, created by over 80 artists during the last 70 years. The museum exhibits private art collection of the family of Dr. George (Gia) Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardadze, founders of

Magticom MagtiCom, Ltd ( Georgian: მაგთიკომი) was founded on February 12, 1996 by Dr. George (Gia) Jokhtaberidze. On September 22, 1997 the Company made the first commercial call from its mobile network. The services offered by MagtiCom ...

, the largest telecommunications company in Georgia.

History

Dr. George (Gia) Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardnadze started collecting art in 1990s. After successful entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Jokhtaberidze started buying art for personal interests. During one of the shopping visits, the gallery was about to ship art to a foreign country for very low prices. Soon Dr. Jokhtaberidze came to realize that if art was scattered around the world without proper collection, documentation and exhibition, art would be lost forever. Since most of the art was created during the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and the Iron Curtain, the art was not yet well-known. Thus, the mission was born: to collect, restore and preserve Georgian art. In the beginning, the mission did not include the idea to build a completely new museum building, the idea was to collect and donate all the art to state museums. However, due to the collapse of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and subsequent economic and civil turmoils, the state museums were left in dire situation and would not be able to accept all the art. After collecting art for over 23 years and succeeding in leading the largest telecommunication company in Georgia, Dr. George Jokhtaberidze saw an opportunity to buy real estate right in front of the building of

Parliament of Georgia The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proporti ...

. An opportunity was quickly turned into a plan to build a complex of buildings that would become the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts and the Art House.

Collections

Artists 3rd Floor * Levan Chogoshvili * Khuta Iremadze * Tato Akhalkatsishvili * Marina Eliozishvili * Ekaterine Abuladze * Ia Arsenishvili *

Gia Gugushvili Gia Gugushvili (; born August 16, 1952) is a Georgian painter. Gia Gugushvili has produced nonfigurative as well as and minimalistic figurative compositions. His paintings are in museums and private collections all over the world. Gia Gugushvili ...

Oleg Timchenko Oleg Timchenko is a Tbilisi-based contemporary painter and founder of the "10th Floor Group". He was born in Old Tbilisi and studied painting at the Tbilisi Academy of Fine Arts. Background In 1917, shortly after the Russian Revolution, the ...

* Karaman Kutateladze * Davit Mindorashvili * Shalva Matuashvili *

Levan Lagidze Levan Lagidze (; (born 1958, Tbilisi) is a prominent Georgian painter. He graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. Lagidze's paintings are in the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Госуда ...

* Geno Zakaraia *

Keti Davlianidze Ketevan Davlianidze ( ka, ქეთევან დავლიანიძის) (born 30 August 1976) is a Georgian painter. A native of Tbilisi, Davlianidze graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1999, and has since shown work at ...

* Irakli Sutidze * Yuri Berishvili * Dali Podiashvili * Jemal Kukhalashvili * Tamaz Kakabadze * Gia Mirzashvili * Mamuka Tsetskhladze * Niko Tsetskhlazde *

Nikoloz Shengelaia Nikoloz Shengelaia ( ka, ნიკოლოზ შენგელაია, russian: Николай Михайлович Шенгелая; Obudzhi, Tsalenjikha District – Tbilisi, 4 January 1943) was a Soviet Georgian film director. Nikoloz ...

4th Floor * Otar Chkhartishvili * Davit Monavardisashvili * Koki Makharadze * Zaal Bachanashvili * Eduard Shakhnazarov *

Irakli Parjiani Irakli Parjiani ( ka, ირაკლი ფარჯიანი) was a Georgian painter. He was born in the town of Mestia, Upper Svaneti, in Georgia's mountainous region. He studied at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (1968-1974), at the Fac ...

* Esma Oniani *

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

* Lev Baiakhchev * Omar Durmishidze * Davit Maisashvili * Tsira Kalandadze * Gaiane Khachaturyan * Mikheil Eristavi * Vladimer Kandelaki * Givi Toidze * Radish Tordia * Dimitri Eristavi * Gogi Chagelishvili * Givi Aghapishvili * Albert Dilbarian * Tamaz Khutsishvili * Tengiz Mirzashvili 5th Floor * Edmond Kalandadze * Zurab Nijharadze * Levan Tsutskiridze * Jibson Khundadze * Temo Japaridze * Duda Gabashvili * Alexandre Bandzeladze * Ana Shalikashvili * Natalia Palavandishvili * Natela Iankoshvili * Qetevan Maghalashvili * Leopold Dzadzamidze * Elguja Amashukeli * Apolon Kutateladze

References

External links

*{{officialwebsite, http://www.finearts.ge/ Museums in Tbilisi Art museums and galleries in Georgia (country) Art museums established in 2018 2018 establishments in Georgia (country)