David Nestorovich Kakabadze

David Nestorovich Kakabadze was born on 20 August 1889 in a small village of the Kutaisi province (Georgia) named Kukhi. His artistic apprenticeship began in 1910 when he decided to attend the art classes of the painter L. E. Dmitriyev-Kavkazsky where he met the artist and theorist Pavel Filonov. Kakabadze's career took a major leap in St. Petersburg after adhering, together with Filonov, at the Intimnaya Masterskaya (Intimate Studio), one of earliest avant-garde group aimed at reconsidering the fundaments of artistic practice. Kakabadze showed a great interest in traditional Georgian arts and crafts, elements of which were always introduced within his oeuvre although reinvented and conveyed through a new artistic language. The hybrid and experimental nature of Kakabadze's style established his reputation as an important figure devoted to promoting a new conception of art in the Soviet Union. After a brief sojourn in Tbilisi (1918-19) the artist travelled to Paris where he settled from 1920 until 1927. In Paris Kakabadze, became committed to the study of space, working closely with the French avant-garde but also taking interest in Byzantine art under the guidance of Gabriel Millet. On his return to the Soviet Union, the artist moved to Tbilisi where he remained until his death mostly experimenting with landscape art in a monumental rendering that also led him to produce murals, theatre and cinema settings.

Dominique Lora