Gvantsa Jishkariani is a multimedia artist and curator. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Tbilisi State Academy of the Fine Arts and later completed her master’s program in Creative Mediation at CCA-Tbilisi.
Jishkariani is fascinated by Soviet-propagandistic arts and traditional craft techniques. Her work investigates imprints left by the past and engages with the images and influences of today and tomorrow. Humour often features in her exploration of deeply personal and socially relevant topics. Born in the same year as Georgia’s independence, she grew up amid chaos and hardship, experiences that have shaped her personal and collective narrative. Her artwork delves into precarious situations and extreme vulnerability while demonstrating remarkable resilience.
Jishkariani has exhibited widely in Georgia and internationally, including in New York, Munich, Brussels, Vienna, Prague, Zurich, and Naples. She is currently shortlisted for CICA Vancouver’s contemporary art awards, received the Prince Claus Fund Seed Awards in 2021, was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020, won the NARS Foundation Studio Grant in New York in 2019, and received the Tsinandali Award in Visual Arts in 2017.
Selected solo exhibitions include Trauma Porn (2025) at Raster Gallery, Warsaw; Dress of a Thousand Oceans (2023) at CH64 Gallery, Tbilisi; I Hate Poetry (2023) and I Dream of Fire (2022) at The Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi; Together Forever (2020) at Open Space, Tbilisi; Permanent Adolescence (2020) at Ballon Rouge, Brussels; Who Will Record History? (2019) at Project Artbeat, Tbilisi; a Tree (2018) at A01 Gallery, Naples; Reptilians with Wings (2018) at Template Bucharest; Goods Are Left on the Shelves (2018), at Nectar Gallery, Tbilisi; Savanna Savage (2017) at Project ArtBeat, Batumi, Georgia; Whales Are Lonely (2016) at the State Silk Museum, Tbilisi; Witchcraft and Curiosity (2016) at A01 Gallery, Naples; and Counterfeit Goods (2016) at Yarat, Baku.
Selected duo/group exhibitions include Tbilisi Independent (2024), Frieze Cork Street No 9, London; Where To? (2024) High Line Nine Galleries, CH64 Gallery, NYC; Unbound Trajectories of the Future (2024) Goethe Institure, Tbilisi; Rings a Bell (2024) Balloon Rouge, Brussels; Nothing New in The East - AKT Pforzheim (2023) Germany; Ring, Ring, Ring (2023) Pal Project, Paris; Temple of Stray Cats (2023) Catbox Contemporary, NY; I am Nobody, who are you? (2022) Rhizome, Kortrijk, Belgium; Soft opening (2022) Halle13, Vienna.
In addition to her artistic practice, Jishkariani has an active curatorial career. She co-founded the Tbilisi-based galleries PATARA Gallery (2017) and The Why Not Gallery (2018), which support young artists. She curated the Tbilisi Photo Festival Night of Photography (2017–2019) and founded Georgia’s first contemporary art and fashion magazine, *Gar-Gar* (2013–2018).
Her works are part of prominent private and public contemporary art collections, including: Alain Servais Collection, Collezione Taurisano, Royal Family of UAE Collection, HRH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan , Fabio Frasca Collection, Andrea Boghi Collection, Marval Collection, Atinati Collection, TBC Bank Collection, Vasili Tsereteli Collection, and The State Silk Museum in Georgia, among others.
EDUCATION
MA in Creative Mediation, Center of Contemporary Art Tbilisi (CCA-T)
BA of Architecture and Design, Tbilisi State Academy of Arts
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
Trauma Porn, Raster Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2023
Dress of a Thousand Oceans, CH64 Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
I Hate Poetry, The Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2022
I Dream of Fire, The Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2020
Together Forever, Open Space, Tbilisi, Georgia
Permanent Adolescence, Ballon Rouge Club, Brussels, Belgium
2019
Who Will Record History?, Project ArtBeat, Tbilisi, Georgia
2018
a Tree.ხე, A01 Gallery, Naples, Italy
Reptilians with Wings, Template Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Goods Are Left on the Shelves (Performance), Nectar Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2017
Savanna Savage, Project ArtBeat, Batumi, Georgia
2016
Whales Are Lonely, State Silk Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia
Witchcraft and Curiosity, A01 Gallery, Naples, Italy
Counterfeit Goods, Yarat Contemporary Art Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
I wish I had a time machine, duo show, Halle13, Gamlitz, Austria
Contemporary art now, group show, CICA Vancouver, Canada
Textile Triennial, Textile Museum, Lodz, Poland
2024
Tbilisi Independent, Frieze Cork Street, London, UK
Where To?, High Line Nine Galleries, CH64 Gallery, New York, USA
Change - Part Two, Window Project, Tbilisi, Georgia
Unbound Trajectories of the Future, Goethe-Institut, Tbilisi, Georgia
Villa Warsaw, NADA Villa Warsaw, Poland
2023
Nothing New in The East, AKT Pforzheim, Germany
Ring, Ring, Ring, Pal Project, Paris, France
Forced Neighborhood, Munich, Germany
Temple of Stray Cats, Catbox Contemporary, New York, USA
Stories I Tell Myself, The Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2022
I’ve Seen the Future Baby, It’s Sexy, Skuc Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
I Am Nobody, Who Are You?, Rhizome, Kortrijk, Belgium
Soft Opening, Halle13, Vienna, Austria
Sorry, No Flowers Here, The Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2021
All Your Favorite Bitches & Witches, CAS, Batumi, Georgia
Two Shapes of Leaf on Tree, KAIR, Košice, Slovakia
Punk Is in the Head, A01 Gallery, Naples, Italy
ART FAIRS
2025
Art Brussels
Art Dubai
NADA Villa Warsaw
2024
Abu Dhabi Art
NADA Miami
NADA House NYC
NADA VIlla Warsaw
Frieze Cork Street
2023
Tbilisi Art Fair
Abu Dhabi Art
Istanbul Contemporary
SPRING/BREAK Art Show NYC
Art Dubai
2022
Tbilisi Art Fair
Drawing Room Madrid
2019
Tbilisi Art Fair
Art Verona
2018
Artissima, Turin Italy
Tbilisi Art Fair
AWARDS / RESIDENCIES / GRANTS
2025
Contemporary art award, CICA Vancouver (shortlisted, Decision TBA)
2023
Prince Claus Fund x Tbilisi Multimedia Museum, Exhibition Grant
2022
Lottozero Textile Labs, Residency Grant, Prato, Italy
2021
Prince Claus Foundation, Seed Awards Recipient
2020
Ministry of Culture Georgia, Exhibition Grant
Forbes 30 Under 30, Culture
2019
Studio Grant, Fotograf Gallery, Prague, Czechia
Studio Grant, NARS Foundation, New York, USA
2018
Residency Grant, BINZ39, Zurich, Switzerland
2017
Tsinandali Award in Visual Art
Residency Grant, Frauenkulturbüro NRW e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany
2016
Residency Grant, Yarat Contemporary Art Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
Residency Grant, Batumi Back Yard Stories, Batumi, Georgia