Image: Karlo Kacharava, The King, 1987, mixed media on paper, 83.7x59.5 cm.

The inaugural exhibition of Kvareli Foundation for Contemporary Art presents a selection of works from the Foundation’s collection, unfolding from the 1980s to the present.

Structured along this timeline, the exhibition traces the development of contemporary art in Georgia across a period of significant transformation. Beginning in the late Soviet context—marked by institutional constraints, coded forms of expression, and the negotiation of unofficial artistic positions—the works reflect practices shaped by limitation, where meaning was often articulated indirectly through form, symbolism, and material restraint. With the rupture of independence and the 1990s, artistic production shifted in response to instability and the collapse of institutional frameworks, giving rise to more  provisional and self-organized approaches. From the early 2000s onward, the works register a gradual reconfiguration of artistic practice within an increasingly interconnected cultural landscape, marked by expanded access, renewed institutional structures, and evolving modes of production. Across these phases, artistic language responds directly to changing political and social conditions, reflecting not only formal transformation but a continuous renegotiation of artistic position and agency.

The exhibition is grounded in a collection formed over more than three decades through sustained, personal engagement with artists and their work. Developed gradually, the collection reflects a continuous process of attention and commitment, bringing together works encountered, selected, and retained over time. Its formation does not follow a predetermined structure, but is shaped through proximity to artistic practice and long-term involvement with its development. The collection reflects an ongoing dialogue with artists across different moments, maintaining continuity while remaining responsive to change. As such, it registers both the evolution of individual practices and the broader shifts within the artistic landscape.

Taken together, the exhibition presents an account of contemporary art in Georgia as it emerges through the continuity of this collection, where the trajectory of artistic production and the history of collecting remain closely aligned.