DINNER WITH PARAJANOV
Installation / Venice Design Biennial / (19.05.2023 – 18.06.2023)
Installation / Photo © Veronika Motulko 2023
EN
The Installation "Dinner with Parajanov" is a symbolic encounter with the filmmaker and artist Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990). The installation is a kind of large still life, a particular spatial and metaphorical phenomenon in Parajanov's films. It is a clear reference to the history of the Caucasus but also a reminder of the decline of the Soviet Union, of transience, of the disintegration of the system, and thus of time. The tableware here creates the symbol of time, eternal change, culture passing away and coming into being again. The installation refers to the unknown region that in the early Soviet era was regarded as a single Transcaucasian entity - the uniformly exotic cultural space that lies beyond the Caucasus between the Black and Caspian Seas and is still little known to the West today.
DE
Die Installation "Dinner with Parajanov" stellt eine symbolische Begegnung mit dem Filmemacher und Künstler Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) dar. Sie ist als großes Stillleben gestaltet und repräsentiert ein besonderes räumliches und metaphorisches Phänomen, wie es in Parajanovs Filmen zu finden ist. Es ist ein deutlicher Verweis auf die Geschichte des Kaukasus sowie eine Erinnerung an den Niedergang der Sowjetunion, die Vergänglichkeit, den Zerfall des Systems und somit an die Zeit. In dieser Installation wird das Geschirr zum Symbol für den ewigen Wandel und die Vergänglichkeit von Kultur. Die Installation verweist auf eine unbekannte Region, die in der frühen Sowjetzeit als ein einziges transkaukasisches Gebilde betrachtet wurde, einen einheitlich exotischen Kulturraum, der jenseits des Kaukasus zwischen Schwarzem und Kaspischem Meer liegt und dem Westen bis heute wenig bekannt ist.
2023 Edition: Auto-Exotic
Curated by Francesca Giubilei and Luca Berta
Installation by Irina Kurtishvili
Open Tuesday – Sunday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Closed Mondays
EXHIBITION VIEWS:
Installation / Photo © Sandro Sulaberidze 2023
Artifacts: Pomegranate by 1300 CERAMIC STUDIO, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2023; Map by Novosti Press Agency Publishing House, Moscow, printed in Switzerland, 1967; Cutlery by 3iШ Factory, Volnjansk, Ukraine, 1960s; Plate by RPF Riga Porcelain Factory, Latvia, 1960s / Photo © Sandro Sulaberidze 2023
Artifacts: Caucasian dagger by artisan workshop, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2010; Brochure “Civilisation Georgiene”, published on the occasion of Georgia’s participation in Paris Economic Exhibition, 1970; 16-cornered glass by Gusevsky Glass Factory, Russia, 1950s; Stainless cups “Krushka” made in China, 2022 / Photos © Veronika Motulko 2023
Artifacts: Pomegranate souvenir made in Armenia, 2010; Drinking horn by artisan workshop, Tbilisi, Georgia, 1970s; Postcard with Pirosmani’s painting “Feast in Vine Pergola”, Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad, 1960s; Crystal glass horn drinking cup by Bohemia Factory, Czechoslovakia, 1970s / Photo © Sandro Sulaberidze 2023
Artifacts: Tea bowls by “50 years of Soviet Azerbaijan” porcelain factory, Kirovabad, Azerbaijan, 1970s; Oriental bowl (Uzbekistan), 1970s; Photo album “Tbilisi 1500”, 1958; Book “Tbilisi” by Tengiz Kvirkvelia, Moscow, 1969; R.: Plate by RPF Riga Porcelain Factory, Latvia, 1960s / Photos © Veronika Motulko 2023
In the foreground two photographs from the extensive photo archive by Yuri Mechitov: Parajanov in private and during filming of “Legend of Surami Fortress” (1985); R.: Postcard: Remains of the cathedral of Zvartnots (Armenia, VII c.), published by Ministry of Communication SSR, 1978 / Photo © Sandro Sulaberidze 2023
View in the studio from outside / Photo © Sandro Sulaberidze 2023
Stil life. Display with artifacts / April 2023
Drawing of the table. Pencil, gouache on paper, 50 x 70 cm / March 2023
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Irina Kurtishvili thanks Francesca Giubilei and Luca Berta
for the invitation to the Venice Design Biennial #4.
My thanks likewise go to German and French friends for their support
in the making of this exhibition project, as well as to all those who, in
various ways, have contributed to the success of this project.
Thanks go to the entire team of 1300 CERAMIC STUDIO, and in
particular to Irina Jibuti and Taso Gomelauri, as well as to all the
collectors who have made their artifacts available for the installation.
Exhibition venue:
GRECI STUDIO
Salizzada dei Greci 3467, Castello
30122 Venezia