Contemporary exhibition-forum: “Sculpture during the Covid-19 Pandemic”

“Sculpture Covid-19 during the Pandemic” is the contemporary forum of sculpture dedicated to the famous Georgian sculptor, Merab Berdzenishvili. The aforementioned project won the competition held by the Ministry of Culture, Sport, and Youth. As the organizers state, on October 15-19 the Merab Berdzenishvili International Culture Center “Muza” will host the exhibition of Georgian contemporary sculpture pieces. The participants will be picked by a jury consisting of 13 sculptors, architects, and art historians. For the first phase of the competition, fifty sculptures will be selected. The second stage entails nominating twenty-two pieces in the different categories. The winners will be awarded cash prizes.

“Every sculptor, which has a professional sculpture education and practices this feel till today, can participate in the contest. The theme is “Sculpture Covid-19 during the Pandemic” but this does not really limit the participants. The only real limit to the submitted works is the scale of a maximum of 80 centimeters.

The sculpture field that used to be one of the strongest, has been neglected over the years. Such forum or an exhibition in sculpture has not been held for around 30-40 years. And it is interesting to learn what is going on in Georgian sculpture, what the trends are, what opportunities we have, where the potential is heading, and so on.

We have been communicating with Georgian sculptors within and outside Georgia. Our association aims to unite the sculptures and let them express their talent at their best.

This forum is an attempt to remind our country that we have a great school of sculpture, super talented sculptors, and they deserve far more attention than they are receiving. I hope this event of ours will result in some progress towards that.” – says Levan Salukvadze, the head of the Tbilisi Association of Architects and Sculptors.

In the 90s, Merab Berdzenishvili, the most celebrated Georgian sculptor to whom the event is dedicated, had a very grand-scale international sculpture symposium ready to go but due to the political situation at that time, it could not happen. Merab used to have the feeling of remorse that he was not able to make it. Although the current sculpture forum could not have the same scale, it is a humble attempt to celebrate and appreciate the great sculptor and his unrealized plan. This is another reason why the event will take place at the Merab Berdzenishvili International Culture Center “Muza” that the sculptor created and built himself.

By the end of the exhibition, there will be discussions about the current challenges and difficulties sculptors in Georgia face. The G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation will also be joining the discussions.

Source: Georgian Journal, Sculpture during the Covid 19 Pandemic