In keeping with a recurring motif in the work of Georgian artist Tolia Astakhishvili, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition will proceed from the concept of the “figure of the child.” In this context, the child embodies both a high degree of intellectual and creative autonomy and a profound dependence on others. Accordingly, Astakhishvili focuses on the experience of art itself, extending it to movement and touch and breaking with the conventions of museum presentation. The notion of the “first encounter,” as children experience it when initially perceiving a phenomenon, serves here as a key to a new kind of experience. Astakhishvili’s extensive body of work is characterized by a keen sensitivity to spaces as multi-layered entities shaped by all the people who experience them. The artist works across sculpture, sound, video, architectural elements, painting, and drawing, combining these approaches in large-scale installations. 

To accompany the exhibition, Astakhishvili is collaborating with the graphic design studio Syndicat on an artist’s book that offers an in-depth exploration of her practice.

Tolia Astakhishvili (born 1974 in Tbilisi, Georgia) lives and works in Berlin and Tbilisi. 

Curated by Fatima Hellberg and Manuela Ammer

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