3-30 August
Patara Gallery Presents Vato Bakradze's Solo Exhibition, “Goalpost of Nature”
The exhibition's title is borrowed from Georgian writer Iakob Gogebashvili's 1868 book “Door of Nature”, as it artistically combines and conveys the exhibition's two main themes: nature, a constant motif in Bakradze's work, and the door, which in this context is interpreted as a football goalpost (the word for both goalpost and door is the same in Georgian). The visual attempt to connect these two radically different elements—on the one hand, a human-invented game, and on the other, animals and plants—serves as the exhibition's main focal point.
The dominant part of the exhibition is occupied by a monumental structure shaped like a football goalpost and wrapped in cardboard sheets. The main inclined surface of the structure echoes the unique architectural features of the gallery space, such as its slanted walls and ceiling, while the works displayed on the sloping plane draw parallels to the large banners fans spread out in stadiums. The rough, textured surface of the entire construction evokes the feel of an urban assemblage and makes the viewer’s eye wander across the surface through Bakradze’s collages.
Central to the show are the collages. In these intuitively created compositions, various images are connected by adhesive tape, which is a visible and inseparable part of the works. The use of adhesive tape allows the artist to create a multi-layered and glossy surface that, unlike traditional collages, gives it a more painterly character. The reflective property of the tape draws a parallel to the protective varnish of classical paintings, which seemingly makes the artworks harder to grasp.
Vato Bakradze (b. 1998) graduated from the Visual Arts, Architecture, and Design School (VA[A]DS) of Free University with a focus on visual arts (2022). He also studied at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan (2018-19) and Chelsea College of Arts in London (2022). This is Bakradze's first solo exhibition outside the university.
Curated by Gvantsa Jishkariani
Photos by Nata Kipiani
Exhibition is supported by Tbilisi City Hall