“Brutal Honesty”, “Formal Moral”, “Generational Trauma”: these are some of the slogans Gvantsa Jishkariani embroiders on her works. They also describe the special aura surrounding her art. Jishkariani, who was born the same year that Georgia regained its independence, can indeed be brutally honest, and she does combine formalism with morality, but generational traumas are also reflected in her works. The starting material for these pieces is the decorative tapestries that were popular in the Soviet Union, which the artist deconstructs and processes by applying embroidered mottos. The language she uses, bordering on parody, is a mixture of political banners, academic jargon, and notes from therapy sessions. By juxtaposing post-Soviet material culture with the newspeak of Global English, Jishkariani creates unique, artisanal objects—captivating souvenirs of our contemporary political apocalypse.
Gvantsa Jishkariani (b. 1991, Rustavi) is a multimedia artist and curator. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Tbilisi State Academy of the Fine Arts (2013) and later completed her master’s program in Creative Mediation at CCA-Tbilisi (2015).
Jishkariani is fascinated by Soviet-propagandistic arts and traditional craft techniques. Her work investigates imprints left by the past and engages with the images and influences of today and tomorrow. Humour often features in her exploration of deeply personal and socially relevant topics. Born in the same year as Georgia’s independence, she grew up amid chaos and hardship, experiences that have shaped her personal and collective narrative. Her artwork delves into precarious situations and extreme vulnerability while demonstrating remarkable resilience.
Jishkariani has exhibited widely in Georgia and internationally, including in New York, Munich, Brussels, Vienna, Prague, Zurich, and Naples. She received the Prince Claus Foundation Seed Awards in 2021, was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020, won the NARS Foundation Studio Grant in New York in 2019, and received the Tsinandali Award in Visual Arts in 2017.
In addition to her artistic practice, Jishkariani has an active curatorial career. She co-founded the Tbilisi-based galleries PATARA Gallery (2017) and The Why Not Gallery (2018), which support young artists. She curated the Tbilisi Photo Festival Night of Photography (2017–2019) and founded Georgia’s first contemporary art and fashion magazine, *Gar-Gar* (2013–2018).
Her works are part of prominent private and public contemporary art collections, including: Alain Servais Collection, Collezione Taurisano, Royal Family of UAE Collection, HRH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan , Fabio Frasca Collection, Andrea Boghi Collection, Marval Collection, Atinati Collection, TBC Bank Collection, Vasili Tsereteli Collection, and The State Silk Museum in Georgia, among others.