Mariam Akubardia was born in 1991 in Gali, Abkhazia. She currently works and lives in Tbilisi. From 2009 to 2013 she studied for a bachelor's program at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, in 2017 she obtained a master's degree from the same university. In 2014 she lived and worked at an art residence in Art-Villa Garikula. Mariam works in a variety of mediums, mostly making paintings and installations.
Mariam has participated in exhibitions, festivals and projects, both in Georgia and abroad. It is noteworthy that in 2016 in Venice, his work "Personal Icons" was exhibited alongside such artists as Jeff Koons, Alberto Giacometti, Yoko Ono, Hermann Nietzsche, Carol Furman, etc. Mariam Akubardia's works are kept in private collections in Georgia and abroad. She collaborates with the following galleries: Daraba Online Art Gallery, The Why Not Gallery and Gallery Caller.
"I am a visual artist with a bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in fine arts from Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. As a contemporary artist, I have been developing my works for the past 10 years.
No matter what I make, I recreate myself in my art work. I was two when war came to us like a hurricane and threw us far away from home. All my work is connected to this experience. The war made me realize that humans get stronger from hurricane, if they manage to survive those by finding themselves and dealing with the wounds.
Instinctively, the themes of my work have mostly revolved around alienation and loss of home expressed through grass growing inside a house or a portrait of a girl surviving the storm. Thus, I have been managing to rediscover myself among strangers and heal from the trauma experienced during and after internal displacement during the 90s.
When creating the work, I aim to engage the viewer by letting them find their own experiences and feelings in my work. Therefore, I always stay away from mere representations of places and people devoid of energy and life. By staying away from painting techniques that printers and photo cameras could do better than me, I make sure to create organic pieces for people to connect with. I make human art."
Exhibitions
2020 - The Art & Freedom project is implemented by the Friedrich Nauman Foundation - Tbilisi, Georgia
2020 - Tbilisi Online Biennale Residency Program - Tbilisi, Georgia
2020 - Tbilisi Online Biennale Home Alone - Tbilisi, Georgia
2019 - Citrus Trees Covered Against the Frost - Tbilisi, Georgia (Winner of the Bauhaus Project/Heinrich-Boell Foundation South Caucasus)
2018 - Not a charity auction ‘’Who Does She Think She Is?’'- Tbilisi, Georgia
2018 - Group Exhibition-Latvia, Riga
2017 - Life&Style; International Print Festival; Tbilisi, Batumi, Telavi, Mestia Georgia,
2017- ‘’Personal Structures’’ Parallel project of Venice La Biennale 2017; Painting Object Exhibition in the Palazzo Mora; Venice, Italy
2016 - Artisterium 9 2016; ‘’Kill Buddha’’ Group Exhibition; Installation in the Artarea Gallery; Tbilisi, Georgia
2016 - Georgian Artists’ Group Exhibition; Phoenix Gallery; Chelsea, New York; NY, USA 2014 - Fest-i-Nova
2014 - Center of Contemporary Arts; Video Art Installation; Kaspi Region, Georgia
2011 - Kars, Turkey
