Niko Tsetskhladze is one of our contemporaries who prefer to be called New Georgian - not because he often travels abroad (though he does); not because he has a mobile phone (though he has one) and certainly not because he leads a slightly different life (he is a painter!)…
He is a New Georgian just because his lifestyle and his paintings are New.

"I do not belong to the category of painters who can lock themselves in the studios and just work. I only live today. Each coming day is a whole new life for me and I have to be fully engrossed in this life. I want my each painting to show this new day and my subjective attitude towards it: I want my works to cover everything and everyone, no mater what or who" - says Niko Tsetskhladze.

Story No1
10th Floor

Those who are familiar with Tsetskhladze's works certainly know that they do not really fit into any specific pattern - his tools and expressive methods constantly change.

"An artist cannot stick to one particular thing. I cannot start something today and continue doing the same tomorrow. I can start with painting in oil and continue with a photo, a text or an object - I can use all the means available to say what I need to say".

This is probably why the works of Tsetskhladze and his friends attracted the attention of critics and professionals in 1980s. " A wonderful painter and a great personality Gia Bughadze largely contributed to the formation of the 10th floor group - we were situated on the 10th floor of the Fine Arts Academy and later moved to the studio of the Marjanishvili Theatre - he provided every possible assistance to us, young painters. "

The years passed and the works of the group and its particular members were not just oils any more. They arranged performances and installations. They staged the so called "actions" and involved the men in the street.  You could see industrial or wooden waste objects along with paintings at their exhibitions.
Many interesting stories were born then…
 

Story No2
The Dummy Riot

The following appeared in Issue 3 of the Kalta magazine: "Two young men from Tbilisi - Oleg Timchenko and Niko Tsetskhladze painted their faces and hands in bronze, put on black costumes and displayed themselves in the shop window of the underground passage by the Kolkhozny Market…The young artists did not move for ten minutes, then crushed the window, jumped out and "froze" for another ten minutes…"

This was something called "Opposition of Conditions". It should be mentioned that in those times all sorts of actions and demonstrations were not alien to us any more. But just two people, without any loudspeakers or posters…plus not really asking for anything…This was something people were not used to.
Thus in late 90s Niko Tsetskhladze and others created works that could not have been received by a certain part of the society due to its traditional attitudes or maybe for some other reasons…

Story No3
A Shot Piece

Everything mentioned above  - performances, installations, objects, photography, oils - all these strange "games" are considered to be the elements of the profession by Tsetskhladze. At one group exhibition, which featured Keti Kapandze, Nino Chubinishvili, Niko Tsetskhladze and Oleg Timchenko one of Tsetskhladze's works was literally shot.

"The exhibition was at a library. Two of my objects were placed outside, by the entrance - these where "Time has stopped" and "Two chairs of confession". The latter was quite a big one. It was an iron cube cut with two chairs inside. Some political party had an office nearby and the members of the party repeatedly demanded to move the "iron thing" from there.

So one fine morning when I got to the library I saw my chairs with holes on them. You could imagine how determined they were.  But I think that piece still performed its function…

Afterwards the "assassinated " object was moved to Tskneti. Sculpture of this kind is of no particular interest for the local galleries."
But sometimes business transactions still take place.
 

Story No4
An interesting barter transaction

In his childhood Niko Tsetskhladze was fascinated by toys. Then he grew up and forgot about his toys. Then mobile phones entered our market - for Tsetskhladze a mobile phone was always somehow associated with a toy and he desperately wanted to have one of his own.

Meanwhile some lady got interested in one of Tsetskhladze's works but could not get enough money to buy it. So she offered him a new mobile phone in exchange for the painting. Tsetskhladze agreed with pleasure - this is how he became a MAGTI GSM customer.

"In the beginning a mobile phone really seemed to be a toy for me, but later when I got one of my own, I realized that the thing is extremely useful. Several times it was very helpful - my foreign friends had to get hold of me urgently…I think everyone should have a mobile phone, but you know the way Georgians are, everyone kept asking me to make a phone call - so my phone is switched off. And I really feel the need for it. I should pay my bills and get it back…"
 

Story No 5
A Shining Path

Each artist clears a unique path of his own hoping that his path stays there for a long time. One can clear a path anywhere - in a forest or in a field - another thing is to make your path into an object of art, so that a combination of an electric heater and red-hot spirals gives you ICE…

"Some of my works were exhibited at UNESCO in 1997. There is an interesting story behind this. I was not feeling well and after leaving the hospital I started going to the Botanic Gardens every day. During the three months I used to follow the same path. I actually cleared it and finally others started to use it as well. Next I took a map of Tbilisi and painted my everyday route on it with photos of all the sights from my house up to the Botanic Gardens. In the West something like that would have been terribly expensive. As for the title, it was winter and naturally the weather was very cold. The heater was on but still…So I decided to combine all my feelings, attitudes into the ICE…"

Niko Tsketskhladze has a lot of plans and a very busy schedule this year. He will be in the States from February till December; in May he has an exhibition in Wiesbaden, then come Paris and a group exhibition in five cities of Belgium. But meanwhile a new gallery is to be open in Tbilisi in January. The first exhibition called "Clowns and Angels" among others will feature Tsetskhladze's works. According to Tsetskhladze this will be a first western-type gallery. New healthy relationships will be created there between the owners and artists…

Another thing Tsetskhladze wanted to stress that the colors of his works are becoming warmer and more beautiful. He himself feels more enthusiastic. This is all due to a 2 month old Alexandre Tsetskhladze. The other members of his family are his wife Ketino Jashiashvili and a 13 year old Ani.
"So far I am grateful for everything life has offered me. Everything goes fine for me, the way I want it to go… As for my being a New Georgian, that was just a joke, a kind of a game… But of course, you know that there is some truth in every joke…"

Story No6
With many sequels...

ELISO KAPANADZE