MAMUKA (DIDEBA) DIDEBASHVILI
(b. 1968, Tbilisi, Georgia)
My chief goal is to transform the mundane and the realistic into something special and elevated. (Mamuka Didebashvili)
Didebashvili’s memorable subject matter, original aesthetic, and technical mastery has compelled sincere and sustained public attention from its first appearance. His art awakens and gratifies layers of the human psyche that are childlike, magic‐loving, and fantasy‐filled, making an indelible impression on the viewer’s inner world.
A master of both the figurative and abstracted genres, Dideba shows boundless imagination, high technical mastery, and the ability to conceptualize on a large scale. Influenced by old masters, he paints both figurative and abstracted works using imprimatura, a multi-layer Renaissance-era technique that allows light falling onto the painting to reflect through the paint layers - a laborious process that requires enormous patience and skill.
Dideba’s figurative works often focus on subtly humorous depictions of universally definable human traits. When I paint people, I strive to convey their essence by hinting at their occupation through personal accessories that inform our ability to understand and interpret the characters. The whimsical costumes of the figures incorporate elements of his abstracted works, acting as an unconscious bridge between the genres.
Dideba’s abstractions are not confined by physical space; instead, they are windows into worlds that expand far beyond the four corners of the canvas, unfolding ever deeper under the sustained gaze. His versatility at non‐objective storytelling is enabled by the broad range of his artistic expressiveness. Didebashvili conveys emotionally charged expressions through complex geometry and robust colour combinations that are set in opposition to more reserved counterparts, creating an irresistibly contemplative world.
His worlds, both figurative and abstracted, acquire an additional dimension through his ingenious treatment of light, rendered with particular skill and imagination. At times, the light mischievously penetrates with particular brilliance the thinner constructs of colour and structure; at others, it daringly emerges as a surprising flash of hope where it is least expected, illuminating expanses amid metaphysically heavy regions. The way Dideba dreams and remains hopeful is quite contagious.
Born in 1968 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Mamuka Didebashvili (Dideba) studied at the I. Nikoladze School of Art and the Painting Department of Tbilisi’s State Art Academy, Georgia. In the interim between the Art School and the Academy, at a time when Georgia was still a republic of the former Soviet Union, he was drafted and served with the elite airborne Special Forces unit in Afghanistan, charged with rescue missions. His life is incredible not only in that he survived, but that he was able to return to art, creating works filled with light and warmth. Widely exhibited in Georgia and abroad, Mamuka Dideba’s artworks have been shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in London and made an important contribution to the Georgian avant‐garde movement.
Select Exhibition History
2018 - Shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London
Solo exhibitions
2019 “The Magical Worlds of Mamuka Dideba”, solo show, Katrine Levin Galleries, Mayfair, London
2013 “VANDA’ Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2007 TRIPTICH GalleryKiev, Ukraine
2006 Cultural centre "Georgian house", Moscow, Russia
2005 Embassy of Georgia in London, United Kingdom
2004 "HMS President" on the river Thames, London, United Kingdom
2000 "Prospero`s Bookshop", Tbilisi, Georgia
Group exhibitions
2017 East West Fine Art Gallery, Naples, USA
2016 Bonita Springs Art Festival, Florida, USA
2016 Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, USA
2015 Patries van Dorst Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
2015 Artexpo New York, New York, USA
2014 Barcelona Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain
2014 Parallax Art Fair, London, UK
2012 “Meeting with Pirosmani” Tbilisi, Georgia
2010 Art Gallery Line, Tbilisi, Georgia
2010"Hobby" GalleryTbilisi, Georgia
2010 Spring vernissage, NoHo, California
2009 Art Gallery Line, Tbilisi, Georgia
2009 Winter vernissage, NoHo, California
2009 Affordable Art Fair, London, UK
2009 Georgian Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine
2009 Spring vernissage, NoHo, California
2008 Edinburg Art Fair, Edinburg, UK
2008 Vernissage "Winter 2008" NoHo, California
2008 Art Ireland November Fair. Dublin, Ireland
2008 Affordable Art Fair, London, UK
2008 Chelsea Art Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London,UK
2008 Art Gallery Line, Tbilisi, Georgia
2008 Vernissage "Spring 2008" NoHo, California
2007 Art Manezh, Moscow, Russia
2007 Artexpo, Las Vegas, Nevada,USA
2007 Affordable Art Fair, London, UK
2007 Art Gallery Line, Tbilisi, Georgia
2007 Chelsea Art Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London,UK
2007 Art Ireland Spring Collection 2007.Main hall of RDS, Dublin, Ireland
2007 Chelsea Art FairLondon, United Kingdom
2007 Art Ireland (spring) Dublin, Ireland
2006 "Hobby" GalleryTbilisi, Georgia
2006 Art Ireland (winter) Dublin, Ireland
2006 Affordable art FairLondon, United Kingdom
2006 The Dulwich Art FairLondon, United Kingdom
2006 Chelsea Art FairLondon, United Kingdom
2006 Central office of the "Rossiyskaja gazeta" Moscow, Russia
2005 Art ManezhMoscow, Russia
2005 Art Ireland (Winter) Dublin, Ireland
2005 "Saarland's kunstlerhouse", Saarbruken,Germany
2005 Art Ireland (Summer) Dublin, Ireland
2005 Chelsea Art FairLondon, United Kingdom
2004 Hogarth`s ClubLondon, United Kingdom
2004 Art ManezhMoscow, Russia
2003 Art ManezhMoscow, Russia
2003 Arts. SokolnikiMoscow, Russia
2002 "Hay Hill" GalleryLondon, United Kingdom
1999 "Hobby" GalleryTbilisi, Georgia
1998“Edison” Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
1992Modern Art Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia