PART II: FIGURES AND THOUGHTS

This week’s story continues the two part series on “Urban Allusions”, our solo exhibition 2-14 September by Mamuka Dideba, a master of the abstract and figurative who returns to London with new works after his critically acclaimed exhibition with us in 2019. Last week I focused on his irresistible contemplative abstractions but this week is all about his unforgettable figurative works which earned him the moniker of “Georgia’s Brueghel”.

The Tital Prometheus depicted in the act of stealing the fire of knowledge from the Gods and Mount Olympus. Left *Prometheus*; Right, *Olympus*

Inspired by the Old Masters, the characters in Dideba’s works appear to exist outside of time.

The Urban Allusions exhibition begins with the Titan Prometheus stealing the fire - representing knowledge - for us mortals from the hearth of the Gods on Mount Olympus.

Prometheus is depicted in a crouched, almost protective posture, suggesting both urgency and caution. He is aware of the potential consequences of his actions. Eyes wide and jaw clenched, his face betrays the complex emotions of awe, fear, and anticipation tied to his defiance of the gods.

With one hand cradling the lantern, he is gesturing outward with the other, both indicating his intent to share the stolen knowledge with humanity and shielding the flame from those who might seek to take it back.

Dideba’s Prometheus looks at once contemporary and ancient; having the modern look of someone having just left an important Board meeting whose directives he is about to defy, yet wearing an outfit and holding a lantern that belong to a different era.

By including elements from different time periods within a single work, Dideba draws parallels between past and present, creating a sense of timelessness. Melding past and present also suggeats that ancient myths continue to be relevant today. In so many ways, the more things change the more they stay the same, re-enacted in different times and contexts as our knowledge and technology expands.

The quirky characters interspersed amidst the magical abstracted worlds of Urban Allusions are, like the worlds themselves, aspects of both humanity at large and our specific, unique, and individual selves, who in the trial and error of creation - whether for ourselves or for the world - at various times feel like a Prometheus, a Jester, or a Triumphant.

I was wondering how best to describe Dideba’s figurative style. He is influenced by the Old Masters and says that he often feels his hand guided by them. He does not finish a painting until he feels his characters are alive, as if on the verge of talking to him. Yet his characters meld myth and reality, past and present, seemingly outside of both space and time.

Is it Anachronism? Postmodernism? New Classicism? Magic Realism? Does it matter? What I love about his works is that they are timeless, an infinite repository of our past, present and multiple possible futures, infusing Magic into the Every Day.

As Dideba says, “My chief goal is to transform the mundane and the realistic into something special and elevated.” And who doesn’t love a bit of magic?

Dideba is affectionately dubbed Georgia’s Brueghel because of his deviation from realistic proportions and interest in human behaviour. Born in 1968 in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he lives and works, he is widely exhibited and collected in Georgia and abroad.

URBAN ALLUSIONS TIMES AND DATES

Mamuka Dideba's Magical Worlds - Figures and Thoughts