Rusudan Khizanishvili (gobejishvili )

Rusudan Khizanishvili (gobejishvili )

"Artist of the Week- Rusudan Khizanishvili If the true skill of an artist lies in their ability to work outside their chosen style, then Rusudan Khizanishvili has proven himself to be extremely competent. By using, adapting and merging a variety of styles the artist has created a portfolio that should greatly impress any viewer. She paints aching portraits that stare out at you with questioning eyes, crafted in expressive thick oil applied with vigour. Yellow figures leave, or run from, disjointed rooms. The perspectives are painted out of synch which gives the work an intense and unnerving atmosphere. In other pictures landscapes are robbed of their assurance by a think, hazy layer or mist which cloaks them with doubt and robs them of the familiarity usually present in the physical world. The sinister underworld of the evening is explored in a series of striking, beautiful paintings. The artist mixes together shadowy, barely visible whites, sleepy blues and nightmarish greens to create a darkly seductive atmosphere. Restless shapes cast the scenes into chaos as ghostly figures watch on from the peripheries. The still life works drip sensuously with colour, life and stylistic innovation. Each image draws the viewer in and demands a second look. These are not paintings for the faint hearted, as attitude and talent work together, hand in hand. Inspired by the old masters, the artist creates semi-mythical, allegorical ideals transported into contemporary settings. This gifted Georgian painter creates works of posing figures, captured brilliantly against glowing, vibrant backgrounds. In another nod to the history of art a Cubist figure reclines and drifts off into a dream. In pure abstraction she masterfully takes on the inherent qualities of the shapes and colours, adding small details whenever she sees fit. The joy of rain is represented with a riotous collision of colour that makes every inch of the canvas feel alive. A wonderful artist, who we are delighted to bring to a wider audience, and a worthy choice for our artist of the week."

Education

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Rusudan Khizanishvili is a young contemporary artist working in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. With influences drawn from great artists such as Gauguin and Cezanne, Khizanishvili's work visibly acknowledges the history of painting and the paintings of the great masters. Her confident use of colour, combined with a palpable and often sensuous handling of oil paint demonstrates a maturity beyond her twenty seven years. Rusudan's approach to both the handling of paint and compositional construction reflects a healthy knowledge of what has come before her, while at the same time clearly display a contemporary set of values and codes of practice. Graduating with a painting degree from the Tbilisi state Academy of Art, Rusudan went on to complete an MA in Media in 2005."