UNDER THE TURQUOISE SKY...

Georgian primitivism is often associated with Niko Pirosmani, although his work cannot be confined to that single category. His art engages with much broader pictorial traditions, and its uniqueness extends far beyond what is usually meant by naive or primitivist painting. Pirosmani developed a distinctive visual language of his own; one that does not fit neatly into established categories. Even so, the tradition of Georgian primitivist painting effectively began with him, and continues in the works of later artists. In this sense, it can be said that Niko Pirosmani, Karapet Grigoryants, and Vano Meliashvili may be seen as forming a triptych of Georgian primitivism.

Pirosmani’s work represents a major artistic phenomenon, which is precisely why it resists being defined solely in terms of primitivism, even though it remains rooted in that tradition. The work and identity of Karapet Grigoryants embody a symbiotic relationship between Armenian and Georgian cultures that gradually evolved into a broader Caucasian legend. By contrast, Vano Meliashvili's artistic language reveals how Georgian culture endured the pathos and exoticization of the Soviet era. His work demonstrates the sustainability of Georgian cultural forms; their ability to engage with Western artistic influences, and their capacity to withstand the pressures of Soviet ideology.

Vano Meliashvili. Man with Georgian National Clothes (Chokha).

 Oil on Cardboard. 67,5x41cm. ATINATI Private Collection

Information about Vano Meliashvili remains scarce. He lived to an advanced age, and his work preserves a deeply rooted reflection of the Georgian cultural ethos. Like many self-taught and outsider artists, he remained outside the Soviet artistic mainstream, gained recognition only late in life, and became more widely appreciated after his death. In this sense, he belongs to that category of artists whose work anticipates later understanding.

Tengiz Mirzashvili (known as Chubchika) and Davit Kiknavelidze played a significant role in bringing Meliashvili’s work to public attention. On their recommendation, the Georgian Museum of Folk and Applied Arts acquired 45 of his works. During the 1970s and 1980s, interest in naive, primitivist, and self-taught artists increased. In particular, the 1970s saw a renewed focus on Niko Pirosmani: numerous exhibitions were organized, and scholarly studies were published, culminating in the establishment of a permanent display of his works. This development may be understood as part of a broader cultural shift, in which society began to turn once again towards its traditions and forms of expression after a long period dominated by the ideology of socialist realism.

Naive and primitivist art was banished, along with other modernist, national, and formalist tendencies. Within the Soviet system, self-taught artists were gradually brought under ideological control, and their work was redirected towards the themes and narratives of socialist realism. The earlier worldview associated with naive and primitivist art - marked by a direct, unmediated perception of the world, a sense of immediacy in spiritual experience, and a close relationship with nature - was increasingly replaced by officially sanctioned subjects, such as the proletariat, collectivism, industrialization, and political leadership. In this way, the original character of naive and primitivist expression was progressively reshaped under ideological pressure. From 1929 onward, the terms “primitivism” and “naive art” fell out of official use, and self-taught artists were reorganized within institutional structures, including the Association of Self-Taught Artists (ОХС).

Vano Meliashvili. Man in Chokha. Oil on Cardboard. 80×47cm. 1970s

An interview with Tengiz Mirzashvili provides important biographical information about Vano Meliashvili. As the artist recounts, he first encountered Meliashvili’s works at his relatives’ home in Sartichala, which prompted him to look into the artist’s life and work more thoroughly.

Vano Meliashvili was born in 1896 in Tianeti, into a poor family. Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by relatives and neighbors. He served in the First World War and lived through three major political upheavals: the Russian Revolution, the brief period of Georgian independence, and the subsequent Soviet occupation. He married at the age of 69. For the last 25 years of his life, he worked as a security guard at a kindergarten.

Meliashvili’s first solo exhibition was held in 1982 at the Children’s Picture Gallery in Tbilisi. Following this exhibition, Edmond Kalandadze, Zurab Nizharadze, and Tengiz Mirzashvili presented his works in Vienna.

Vano Meliashvili. Telavi. Oil on Cardboard. 50x50cm. 1970s

In 1984, a new edition of the World Encyclopedia of Naive Art, compiled by Oto Binalji-Merin and Bato Tomasevic, was published, featuring artists from 50 countries, including the Soviet Union. The edition included several artists living in Georgia: Aleksandre Aladashvili, Irina Gagua, Karapet Grigoryants, Hasan Helimishi, Gayane Khachaturian, Shalva Maradishvili, Niko Pirosmani, Ema Zarapishvili, and Vano Meliashvili.

Only a small number of photographs of Meliashvili have survived, as he disliked being photographed and generally refused to allow it.

He died in 1988 at the age of 92. The location of his grave remains unknown. After his death, his work continued to receive attention: exhibitions were held in 2000 at the National Library of Georgia, and also in 2015, when his works were included in the exhibition Faces at the State Museum of Folk and Applied Arts.

It is worth considering Vano Meliashvili’s work and artistic language within both local and global art contexts. He worked primarily with pencil, pen, oil paint, and Indian ink, using a wide range of surfaces: cardboard, plywood, paper, even matchboxes and cigarette packs. His visual world brings together everyday experience and imagined scenes; the real and the fictional, the urban and the rural. His compositions reflect a synthesis of influences, including Georgian miniatures, tombstone carving, printed reproductions, images of Ktetors on frescoes, and Georgian mosaic. 

Vano Meliashvili. Potter. Oil on Canvas. 48x48cm. 1970s

Meliashvili depicted a wide range of subjects with equal clarity and confidence: Vazha-Pshavela and his family, King Tamar, King Erekle, Ananuri, Mtskheta, Samtavro, as well as self-portraits, portraits, everyday scenes, children, landscapes, and family members. Text often appears within his works, functioning as artistic commentary: sometimes as fragments of memory, sometimes as a form of documentary narration.

Vano Meliashvili. Vazha-Pshavela With Family. Oil on Cardboard. 70×50cm. 1970s

In global art discourse, the concept naive painting extends across several related categories, including primitivism (self-taught art), art brut, outsider art, intuitive art, and raw art. The list of artists associated with these tendencies is extensive, but key figures include Anna Mary Robertson, Ivan Generalić, Henri Rousseau, Henry Darger, and Maria Prymachenko.

While Meliashvili’s work does not directly align with any one of these traditions, his expressive language, use of color and form, and iconography place him in meaningful dialogue with this broader artistic constellation.

Vano Meliashvili. Untitled. Oil on Cardboard. 70×50cm. 1970s

Vano Meliashvili’s artistic language stands out within both local and global contexts. He is a highly individual artist who does not fully fit within global primitivism. His vision is characterized by stillness, concision, and a blocky nature: forms are simplified and schematic, often deliberately flattened against the background, with a tendency toward asymmetry and irregular rhythm.

In everyday and historical scenes, human figures are depicted in descriptive, icon-like, and relief styles. The background, often rendered as sky or an abstract space, tends to be unified and continuous, while figures, objects, and animals are treated in a more varied, polychromatic manner. These elements may be contrasting or harmonized, depending on the composition. Color areas are clearly localized; forming simple, often naive shapes. Meliashvili frequently develops surface patterns through different techniques: dotted, linear, fluid, or ornamental, especially in his depiction of clothing, jewelry, architecture, and plants.

Vano Meliashvili. Aunt. Oil on Cardboard. 50x35cm. 1978. ATINATI Private Collection

The palette is richly or moderately saturated, evoking a sense of unified spiritual illumination. Turquoise blue and green, sometimes deep ultramarine tones, often dominate the background, evoking the shimmering surfaces of Byzantine frescoes and mosaics.

This color and atmosphere are the results of Vano Meliashvili's spiritual experience and philosophical insight. His vision of utopian Georgia existed beneath a turquoise sky. The spirit of primitivism is evident in every nuance throughout his work, seeing his artistic vision consistently preserved in its raw, unrefined state.

Vano Meliashvili. Virgin With Child. Oil on Cardboard. 79x59cm. ATINATI Private Collection

P.S.

This is how people remember Vano Meliashvili: “He loved being around children; he was kind, and a little eccentric. He would not come close, would not look into your eyes: he spoke as if he were talking to himself…”

As Chubchika recalled in an interview: “The artist’s wife would often gather Vano’s paintings behind the sideboard and send them off with the garbage truck - sometimes she even sold them…”

On Atarbekov Street, in a cramped basement with windows covered with curtains, lived a handsome old man who painted in darkness.

One might imagine that, as he worked in that dim, enclosed space, Vano Meliashvili inhabited a different world: one beneath a turquoise sky that he did not wish to share. Perhaps this is why he kept the room in darkness: within his camera obscura, a stream of turquoise light seemed to pour into his inner vision.

Vano Meliashvili’s utopian Georgia existed under that turquoise sky.