Avto Varazi

TBC Art Gallery, Tbilisi

"When sitting in front of a canvas, the artist never knows the final result, he is only alive when creating a painting. It’s true that the final destination of a canvas is the nail on which it is constantly or temporarily hung but the artist should never forget that on the same nail hangs a part of his life." From the artist's notes, in Goga Kalandadze (ed.), Avto Varazi, Tbilisi, 1998.

Avto Varazi was born to a family of intellectuals, with his father Vasil Varazishvili nominated for a Noble prize in the field of medicine. The family had suffered from Soviet repressions, which instigated a fierce resistance in the painter from a young age. Known for his ferocious non-conformism, Varazi fought against the regime through his canvases. As a result he was never given a studio, never allowed to have an exhibition and when the movie Pirosmani, directed by George Danelia with Avto Varazi as the lead character, was to tour to London, the painter was not granted a visa. The general public became aware of Avto Varazi after he had worked on the decoration of S. Janashia Georgia State Museum exhibition halls.  His decision to employ colour as the dominant decoration to use it to articulate mood was innovatory. In 1962 the artist attempted to hold a personal exhibition at his friend’s flat but the event was closed down by the Soviet censors, accused of formalism. Varazi had a difficult character; however, many have found his magnetism irresistible. His spiritual aristocratism and dignity that was unaffected by his physical poverty is reminiscent of Varazi’s spiritual teacher, Niko Pirosmani. Both painters are great examples of idealists struggling to come to terms with reality. Varazi’s poverty was a social standpoint as he refused to live well in a country ‘where only swindlers could live well’.

Although trained as an architect, Varazi never worked as one, greatly disliking Soviet architecture and calling it ‘a reinforced concrete hell’. Varazi holds a significant place in 20^th century Georgian art; his exquisite canvases stand out from the Socialist Realism odes. The infinitely creative curiosity of the artist resurfaces in his paintings and reveals the influences of European art, especially Cubism and Picasso. Varazi was also interested in Georgian artists; as a frequent guest of Lado Gudiashvili and a student of Alexander Bashbeuk-Melikov, the elder generation recognised the young artist’s talent.

As a painter, Varazi can be seen as the successor of David Kakabadze’s constructive-decorative compositions. The present lot, Collage with Bottles, is a splendid example of Varazi’s collages, a medium he introduced to Georgian art. Visually the painting is reminiscent of Synthetic Cubism for the celebration of printed text, especially newspaper, and the distinctive colour palette. Varazi frequently painted still-lifes, often remarking that ‘A still-life is a portrait of a human where he is not reflected but felt’. Suffering from alcoholism, his tiny flat-studio was filled with bottles and as friends recall a little glass was always besides his palette; hence, the recurring still-lives with the wine bottles and glasses. As evidenced by the present lot, Varazi enjoyed painting on the coarse side of a board, itself not a painting material.  However, the tinted and textured surface greatly attracted the painter. Notably in this collage the painter has incorporated extracts from the newspaper Sakartvelo (Georgia). The daily newspaper was published between 1915 and 1921 before the occupation of Red Army. The painter deliberately revealed enough of the text for a recognisable reference. Indeed the second half of the 19th century and especially the short life of the Democratic Republic of Georgia were remarkably fruitful in Georgian history. Tbilisi was flourishing intellectually and culturally; Tbilisi State University opened in 1918 and Society of Artists (later expanding into the State Academy of Arts) was founded in 1916. In many ways the newspaper Sakartvelo has become a signifier of that progressive society of intellectuals and European trained prominent artists that was cut short by Soviet regime. When asked about the materials of his collages, Varazi replied: ‘if you want to communicate an idea that cannot be put in paint, you incorporate whatever is convenient’; and indeed the fragments of the newspaper Sakartvelo revive the destroyed era and the painter’s own grievance about it in a poignant and laconic way.