DAVIT KAKABADZE
B. 1889, Bagdati, Georgia.
D. 1952, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Education:
1910 Kutaisi Gymnasium, Kutaisi, Georgia.
1915 St. Petersburg University, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, St. Petersburg, Russia.
L. Dmitriev-Kavkazski Art Studio, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Solo Exhibitions:
1928 ‘Constructivism,’ Tbilisi, Georgia.
2012 ‘David Kakabadze – Great Georgian Modernist’, David Kakabadze Kutaisi
Fine Arts Gallery, Kutaisi, Georgia.
2013 The National Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2015 ‘David Kakabadzé, Passages,’ Musée Maillol, Paris, France.
2019 ‘David Kakabadze 130,’ TBC Art Gallery, David Kakabadze Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia.
‘David Kakabadze 130’ (From Private Collections),
Alexander Chavchavadze House Museum, David Kakabadze Foundation, Baia Gallery,
TBC Status, Tsinandali, Georgia.
Group Exhibitions:
1919 The First Exhibition of the Georgian Art, Temple of Glory, Tbilisi, Georgia.
1921 Exhibition of the Georgian Art, Galerie La Licorne, Paris, France.
1924 Salon des Indèpendants, annual exhibition: ‘Architecture et Arts qui Se Rattachent,’ Paris, France.
1925 Salon des Indèpendants, annual exhibition: ‘L’Art d’Aujourdhui,’ Paris France.
1926 Exhibition of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA.
1935 Spring Exhibition of Works of Georgian Artists, Tbilisi, Georgia.
1941 Exhibition of the Georgian Art (20th and 25th anniversaries of Soviet Georgia), Tbilisi, Georgia.
1949 Art Exhibition (Stalin’s 70th Birthday), Tbilisi, Georgia.
1965 Republican Exhibition of Theatre and Cinema, Tbilisi, Georgia.
1969 Exhibition of Georgian Art, Dresden, Germany.
1971 Exhibition of the Rustaveli National Theatre Painters, Tbilisi, Georgia.
1975 ‘Man and His World,’ Montreal, Canada.
1979 ‘Moscow - Paris 1900 - 1930,’ The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia.
1981 ‘Paris – Moscow 1900 - 1930,’ Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France.
1999, 2000 ‘From Generation to Generation,’ Modern Art Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2005 ‘Fantastic City,’ Baia Gallery, Gallery Vernissage, TBC Bank, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2008 ‘The XX Century – Starting Space,’ Georgian Modernism from Private Collections, Baia Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2010 ‘The Twentieth Century Georgian Painting from the Private Collections and Contemporary Artists,’ Baia Gallery, Tbilisi Georgia.
2017 ‘Rarity,’ Baia Gallery, Tbilisi Georgia.
2018 ‘Collector,’ Silk Factory Studio, Baia Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2019 ‘Expo 1919–2019,’ Baia Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2020,2021 ‘Art Expo XX-XXI,’ Baia Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2021- 2022 ‘Elene Akhvlediani and Her Era,’ Baia Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Achievements:
1910 Through the assistance of the Georgian Entrepreneurs’ Association ‘Chemo’ continued his studies at St. Petersburg’s University Natural Sciences Faculty. Simultaneously he studied at Dmitriev-Kavkazsky’s art studio.
1914 Jointly with Pavel Filonov and other artists founded an artistic association ‘Constructed Pictures: The Painters’ and Artists’ Intimate Workshop.’
1916 The member of the Society of the Georgian Artists.
1918 Taught natural sciences and art at Tbilisi First Gymnasium for Boys.
1919 Painted the interior of the ‘Kimerioni’ cafe
Supported by the government of independent Georgia, David Kakabadze left for Paris to continue his studies there.
1922 - 1926 Lived and worked in Paris. After the Cubist series, he is one of the first to create biomorphic abstractions. Invented a stereo motion-picture apparatus without glasses.
1926 An exhibition of exemplary modern art was organized in the Brooklyn Museum, Buffalo, and Toronto, under the direct supervision of Wassily Kandinsky. The exhibition organizer and the president of ‘Societe Anonyme,’ Katherine Dreier, selected 15 paintings by David Kakabadze. The exhibition presented 58 artists from 23 countries.
1927 Returned to Soviet Georgia. Worked in the areas of theatre and cinema design, decorative design of festive parades, painting, and graphic arts. He taught at the Academy of Arts.
1928 He was invited to work for the Kutaisi Theatre by director Kote Marjanishvili.
He signed the ‘SARMA’ (Organization of the Georgian Revolutionary Artists) manifesto.
1931 Managed the production of the documentary ‘The Old Monuments of Georgia.’
1941 Katherine Dreier presented the collection of modern art to the Art Gallery of Yale University. It included the following works by David Kakabadze: abstract sculpture – ‘A speared fish’ – ‘Z,’ two paintings from the ‘Bretagne’ series, and six paintings from the ‘Abstract Motifs’ series. In 1950 a catalog of the collection was published, where Katherine Dreier wrote about David Kakabadze: “He was one of the most interesting among all modern artists and sculptors, partly due to his extraordinary love for his homeland and partly due to his scientific background, which made him a creative artist of superb quality.”
1942 He was a Vice-Rector at Tbilisi State Academy of Arts.
1948 He was persecuted and ousted from the Academy of Arts as a pedagogue who has failed to pass on the principles of Socialist Realism.
1950 Made stage and costume designs for up to 30 plays and films.
He started working on Stalin’s three-dimensional portrait, which can be considered an example of the pre- laser halogen. It was an avant-garde concept in Soviet reality. The project remained unfulfilled.
2005 The highest auction price - 76,972 USD. Macdougall Arts, London, Great Britain.
David Kakabadze’s artworks are kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, Tbilisi, Georgia; Georgian Literature Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia; Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre, Tbilisi, Georgia; The State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow, Russia; Yale University Art Gallery, USA; Thyssen- Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid, Spain; Berardo Museum, Lisbon, Portugal; private collection of George Costakis, etc.
Publications:
1914 Manifesto the ‘Elaborated Picture.’
1924 ‘David Kakabadze,’ Paris, France.
1926 ‘Art and Space,’ Paris, France.
1947 ‘Genesis and Types of the Georgian Ornament,’ Paris, France.
Awards and Honors:
1952 Merited Art Worker of Georgia.