Unknown Spaces

Artists: Natia Sapanadze and Ketevan Varshanidze

Curated by David Finestein

 

8 - 23 December 2022

 

1 Kekelidze Street

Entrance on Paliashvili Street

Tbilisi, Georgia

 

There is no question that a person’s environment affects their mental wellbeing. Whether in an urban or rural environment, it is sometimes difficult to maintain a healthy perspective. The work in this exhibit explores how a person’s environment projects a sense of belonging and level of loneliness.

 

Many studies demonstrate a correlation between dense urban environments and the development of mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. While correlation does not necessarily imply causation, many people who suffer from such disorders improve by leaving their dense urban environment for one with better access to nature. Still, empty spaces can make some people feel disconnected.

 

About the artists:

 

Natia Sapanadze (b. 1999) is a Georgian artist living and working in Tbilisi. She began drawing as a child and self-taught, working in various media including painting and installation. She works in various media. Sapanadze’s work explores mysticism and symbolism.

 

Ketevan Varshanidze (b. 1995) works and lives in Batumi. She graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts specializing in painting. Her primary medium is oil paintings, but she experiments with alternate media as well. Varshanidze explores places that are not fully explored by humans. For her, these places are those that leave the strongest impression in her mind, conveying a sense of emptiness and loneliness. There is an element of self-portraiture in some of her pieces.