1892-1969

Painting, Graphics, Stage Design, Typography

 

Kiril Zdanevich was born in Kojori, Georgia in 1892. In 1918 he graduated from Petersburg Art Academy. He was studying painting in Tbilisi, Moscow and Paris. From 1923 his main interest was stage design.

Kirill Zdanevich is a Georgian-Polish futurist artist and an important figure of Georgian Modernism. He was one of the main persons of “Tbilisi Avant-Garde” and member of the group “41°". Together with Lado Gudiashvili, Aleksey Petrokovsky, Juri Degen and Ilya Zdanevich he painted “Fantastic Tavern”. He was also involved to paint artistic cafe “Argonauts’ Boat”. Kirill was actively worked as a book illustrator,  theoretician, art researcher, he is a founder of “orchestral painting”.

In 1923 Kirill Zdanevich was invited by Kote Marjanishvili  to work at Rustaveli Theater. During 1928-1930 he was also working at Moscow M. Poreger Theatre. Kirill Zdanevich has an important role in developing and formatting Georgian stage design together with Kote Marjanishvili. Artist main achievement is to discover and popularize Niko Pirosmanashvili paintings together with his brother, Ilya Zdanevich and Le Dantue.

Kirill Zdanevich was repressed and exiled to Vorkuta in 1949. He returned in Tbilisi in 1957. Zdanevich awarded as an honoured artist in 1963. Artist died in 1969 and is interred at Didube Pantheon.

Important Dates:

1912 - Group exhibitions with Russian Artists group “Donkey’s Tail” (“Ослиный хвост”)  together with artists Mikhail Larionov, Natalya Goncharova, Vladimir Tatlin, Kazimir Malevich, etc.

1913 – „Mishen“ (Мишень), Moscow, Russia

1913 - First Solo exhibition, Atelie of Alexander Arkhipenko, Paris, France

1919 - Personal exhibition, Tbilisi, Georgia

1925 - International exhibition of Fine and Decorative Art, Paris, France