Zurab Tsereteli returns to his homeland

By Georgy Kalatozishvili, exclusively to VK

Recently an exhibition of Zurab Tsereteli’s works opened in the center of Tbilisi, in the ex-Cadet Corps building. At first glance there’s nothing surprising about that, but it turns out that Tsereteli not only organized the expo, he bought the very building – one of the most beautiful in the Georgian capital. So a ‘Zurab Tsereteli house’ has appeared in Tbilisi, and the expo seems to have become permanent, just like the one in his Moscow palace.

But if the Moscow expo that is situated in Tsereteli’s personal apartment is open only to top guests, the Tbilisi expo is conceived as a public heritage. The building itself is quite appropriate to the design: grand halls, high ceilings, marble stairs… And the most important thing is that it’s situated on the central Rustaveli Avenue. So one couldn’t miss the expo if one visits Tbilisi. Admission is, of course, free.

It is interesting that Tsereteli decided to invest in a building in the center of his native city right after his old friend, the ex-mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, was left out of the picture. When he was dismissed from his office it ended not only his career, but the career of his main ‘court artist’ as well. But still Tsereteli doesn’t’ hurry to move all his works from the Moscow expo to Tbilisi: first of all, even the two-storeyed building won’t be able to house them all and secondly, some works are not ideologically fit to be exhibited in the center of Tbilisi (such as a statue of Putin wearing a kimono).

Anyone who visited the expo would understand that the main artistic achievements of this truly outstanding artist lie not in his fundamental sculpture (which has always been mocked), but in his minor graphic and sculpture works.

Tsereteli’s energy and the diversity of his work are striking. It seems that he can sculpture, paint and stamp medals – all at the same time. If you’ look at some of his graphic works or enamels you’ll understand that he still remains a truly Georgian artist. All his works made ‘for himself’ and not on order show national motifs and studies of Tbilisi where he grew up.

Zurab’s grandfather was repressed and executed in 1937. His early works were also not appreciated by the Soviet government. His first important work took place in Abkhazia, and the second in Moscow, where he participated in designing the ‘Dom Kino’ (House of Cinema). Then he visited Paris, met de Gaulle and Picasso. A 4-meter-high sculpture of the great Spanish artist is presented in Tsereteli’s Museum in Tbilisi, as well as gigantic statues of other famous artists such as Modigliani. In the pompous epoch of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromiko (1970s-1980s), Tsereteli was the head artist of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is possible that it is due to this position that he got the opportunity to establish wide international connections.

However, his true ‘golden age’ started in the 90s, when Luzhkov became the Mayor of Moscow. After this epoch ended the artist desided to create a ‘safe harbor’ for himself. He never severed his connection to Georgia, he was even a Georgian MP in 1992-1995, in the coalition of his old friend President Shevardnadze. The latter also had some devidends from this friendship: back in 1995, when Tsereteli’s monument on the Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow was opened, the Georgian President got the opportunity to make a speech along with the Russian, US and French Presidents even though Georgia has nothing to do with the monument.

The new expo in Tbilisi shows that the new Georgian administration and President Saakashvili are also favorable to Tsereteli, or else the building would have remained state property. At the same time, we all saw Tsereteli at the recent inauguration ceremony of Vladimir Putin. So it seems that this artist doesn’t have any ‘masters’ after all – he serves his own interests; and his true sympathies may be seen in his minor graphic works showing the charming old Tbilisi.