"In this context, free creative choice was understood not merely as an aesthetic position, but as an ethical and political act."
— Mariam Shergelashvili, Art Historian, 2026
Repression & Free Will examines the mechanisms through which the Soviet system restricted the artist's autonomy, as well as the forms of creative resistance that emerged in response. Presented in partnership with the Polish Institute Tbilisi, the exhibition brings into dialogue biographical narratives, archival materials, and analyses of artistic language — foregrounding both the systemic apparatus of repression and the deeply personal, traumatic experiences of individual artists.
One of the symbolic figures in this process is Henryk Hryniewski (1869–1938), an artist of Polish descent active in Georgia who became a victim of Soviet repression. The exhibition presents the historical context of his life and work as visual and documentary evidence of the mechanisms of power.
The exhibition traces the development of Georgian abstraction from early modernism through to independence (1920s–2000s), revealing how abstract art became one of the most visible targets of Soviet repressive logic. From David Kakabadze (1889–1952) to Leila Shelia (b. 1953), a multilayered tradition of abstraction developed in Georgia — each case revealing a distinct mechanism of Soviet censorship, marginalization, and punitive practice.
Beyond historical analysis, the exhibition offers a critical reconsideration of Soviet ideology through the creative practices of contemporary Georgian artists Levan Chogoshvili, Guram Tsibakhashvili, and Merab Kopaleishvili, whose work engages with memory, identity, and the enduring tension between repressive social systems and personal freedom.
One of the symbolic figures in this process is Henryk Hryniewski (1869–1938), an artist of Polish descent active in Georgia who became a victim of Soviet repression. The exhibition presents the historical context of his life and work as visual and documentary evidence of the mechanisms of power.
The exhibition traces the development of Georgian abstraction from early modernism through to independence (1920s–2000s), revealing how abstract art became one of the most visible targets of Soviet repressive logic. From David Kakabadze (1889–1952) to Leila Shelia (b. 1953), a multilayered tradition of abstraction developed in Georgia — each case revealing a distinct mechanism of Soviet censorship, marginalization, and punitive practice.
Beyond historical analysis, the exhibition offers a critical reconsideration of Soviet ideology through the creative practices of contemporary Georgian artists Levan Chogoshvili, Guram Tsibakhashvili, and Merab Kopaleishvili, whose work engages with memory, identity, and the enduring tension between repressive social systems and personal freedom.