Newman Popiashvili Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition of three Georgian photographers: Shalva Alkhanaidze (1927-1978), Natela Grigalashvili (b. 1965) and Guram Tsibakhashvili (b. 1960).

The exhibition focuses on three specific series of these three artists: Alkhanaidze’s Passport Photos from the mid 20th century, Georgian Village by Grigalashvili and Tsibakhashvili’s Definitions both series produced in the early 1990s. Alkhanaidze’s photos were taken from 1955-65 and show the generation of Georgians from his native Mta-Tusheti region. The title of the series refers to the objective of the photos: these people were posing for the artist as they needed passport headshots measuring 3×4 cm. However, these are full body portraits, seated in front of the seamless gray backgrounds. It is unknown if the author took the full body portraits on purpose or he simply did not have an equipment to take passport head photos and used whatever equipment was available to him. The end result is almost an anthropological study of Alkhanaidze’s models social status, personality, their style and the zeitgeist.

As Alkhanaidze’s portraits introduce the characters of the Georgians from the sixties (portraits presented in the show are dated 1962-1965) Natela Grigalashvili’s series titled Georgian Village occur 30 years later and show a quotidian life of the village and its landscapes. These small black and white unique prints of villagers working in the fields, or shepherds herding their flock on the mountain evoke a timeless atmosphere of the village – reminding us of Bruegelian village or Millet’s field workers.

The title of the show harkens from the work by Guram Tsibakhashvili. In the series Definitions, Tsibakhashvili mixes his own photos with found negatives of the unknown documentary photographer named Kezel. Tsibakhashvilil printed these hybrid photographs on special X-Ray paper that was used at the medical facilities in the former USSR. The result is a watercolor effect of the photos. The artist painted and drew on the prints with red gouache and graphite pencil and gave a “definition” of each image. The artist explained the word that the image illustrated directly or by association. The jest is in the humor and irony between image and the word/concept that it defines.

Shalva Alkhanaidze was a self-educated photographer (1927-1978). His Passport Photos were taken between 1962-1970 in the mountainous Mta-Tusheti region of Georgia. Because of his poor health Alkhanaidze had to give up traditional occupation for the region – shepherding – and found a relatively easy job to support his family. Following the advice his relative Alkhanaidze studied photography in 1955 and set up a first photo studio in the region at his house. Between the years of 1955-1976, he created photo portraits of several generations and a unique photo archive depicting the life of Mta-Tusheti people. However, his work remained largely unknown to the general public. This is a first time that Alkhanaidze’s work is being shown outside of Georgia following the exhibition at the Open Society Georgia exhibit last year.

Natela Grigalashvili first appeared on the Georgian art scene in the late eighties. She currently works as a photographer at the ministry of the internal affairs, which involves documenting official meetings.

Guram Tsibakhashvili has exhibited extensively since the late 80s. His work was part of the exhibition Born In Georgia at Cobra museum, Amstelveen, Holland, in 2009; his work was featured on the cover of the catalogue for the exhibition. He has shown recently at Barbara Thumm Gallery in Berlin and currently his work will appear in To See the Dimensions, Artists from Georgia at the Lunds Kunsthall, Sweden.