®
Artists
News
If you are interested in works of art by Maka Dadiani, please contact us:
management@paks-gallery.com
Munich
Vienna
gallery by the castle
Heidenreichstein
Princess Maya (Maka) Dadiani belongs to the royal dynasty of Mingrelia in Georgia. Her
great grandfather, Alexandre (Kviti) and great grandmother Nino (Ninutsa) were both
Dadiani. She is a direct descendent in the eighth generation of the King Otia, who was ruling
Mingrelia in the years 1728-1757. She is also a direct descendent in the sixth generation of
the King
Manuchar (1792) and Niko the Great (1834, statesman, militarycommander-in-chief,
governor of Mingrelia, ambassador and historian).
Maka Dadiani’s parents, recognizing her talent as a musician, decided to give Maka musical
education as pianist. Yet she had to practice visual arts in addition to music, as she was
strongly attracted to drawing and painting since her early youth, whereas she was creating
excellent copies of works of great masters such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raffael,
Rubens, etc. After attending music school, she studied at the Music Academy of Tbilisi and
graduated as concert master.
Her passion for painting pushes her at the age of 23 to give up on her career as a musician
and to study Fine Arts at the State Institute of A. Pushkin in Tbilisi, a renowned art school of
Georgia. Her first solo show is held in 1983 at the Institute. Her talent being widely
recognized, Maka receives in the years 1984-1989 the Scholarship for the Exemplary
Students at the Tbilisi State Institute of A. Pushkin, where she graduates with Distinction. In
1985 she takes part in the All-Soviet-Union Students’ Contest of Fine Arts in Moscow. The
quality of her work earns her the First Prize. Maka Dadiani’s five exhibited works have been
permanently kept at the Foundation of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia.
A year before her Graduation, in 1988 Maka starts working as an Associate Professor at the
Tbilisi State Institute of A. Pushkin, at the Department of Fine Arts. In 1989 she starts
working as an artist at the famous painting studio of Tbilisi, called Artist's House, staffed with
the ten greatest Georgian artists of that time. Maka Dadiani paints among artists such as
Shalva
Matuashvili, Merab Abramishvili, Nodar Badurashvili, Jemal Kukhalashvili, Tamaz
Kakabadze, Levan Margiani, Besik Arbolishvili, etc. The Artist's House was directed by the
well-known Georgian artist, Prof. Temo Gotsadze.
Unfortunately, during the Georgian Civil War in 1991, the Artist's House burned completely
down and many of her paintings were destroyed. Nevertheless, she continued to paint and
took part in several exhibitions in the following years. Maka moved in 2004 to Zurich,
witzerland, where she works and lives until today.
Until 2006 Maka painted essentially with oil. Permanently looking for new ways of
expression, she developed a special technique in order to obtain three-dimensional effects
and relief forms. Her work, whether figurative or abstract, is based on profound academic
knowledge and is characterized by immense expressivity and unfathomable sensitivity, as
well as stylistic
versatility and dynamism. Maka’s virtuosity as an outstanding portraitist and painter are
broadly recognized. She created – among many other prominent personalities – a portrait of
His Royal Highness King Juan Carlos I de Borbón of Spain. The Portrait has been kept since
2011 in the Collection of the Palacio de La Zarzuela in Madrid.
Princess Maka is author of an innovative, ground-breaking approach in fine arts, called
“Moving Fine Arts”. This seminal approach conceptualizes the creation of paintings with
moving elements, which are incorporated into the painting with the help of an appliance. A
part or two of a painting’s object moves based on an electric mechanism and imparts the
painting a uniquely dynamic atmosphere, combined with an unprecedented coherence. Due
to Maka’s brilliant, gigantic artistic talent, moving elements merge with the static part of the
painting in the most harmonious manner and the picture reflects liveliness and integrity at
each angle of its moving part in the process of the motion.
In 2019, with her “Moving Fine Arts” Maka Dadiani won the First Prize of The International
Art’s Exhibition of the City of Lerici, Liguria, Italy.
Princess Maka Dadiani, permanently looking for new ways of expression, has recently
developed two new styles and techniques – “In Umbra Sfumato” and “Metamorphosis”.
“In Umbra Sfumato” implies gradations of light and shadow in darkness, which is performed
mainly in acrylic. The principle of this technique consists in the fact that the canvas is at first
covered in black/dark colours, and lastly the light is brought out from the dark. Through this
wonderful technique, the artist achieves incredible vibrance and contrast between light and
dark, creating a deeply mystical ambience.
“Metamorphosis” represents an abstract world, perceived and depicted by the artist, in form
of various allegorical metamorphic manifestations. By implementing deeply contrasting
colours, Maka Dadiani creates a very distinct mood and dynamic through her abstract
paintings of the
“Metamorphosis”-series.
It is important to emphasize that Maka’s abstract paintings always depict a precise subject
and are a result of a certain purpose, which she defines in the forefront. Maka’s abstractions
intensely reflect her vivid emotions, feelings and character. Princess Maka’s way of visual
storytelling is one of a kind.
Maka Dadiani frequently exhibits her works at private and public solo and collective
exhibitions. Maka is a member of various artist unions such as Georgian Artist Association,
Georgian Artists’ Guild, German Artists’ Union “Syrlin”, Swiss Artists’ Union “Artischock” as
well as member of Ugo Guidi Museum in Tuscany, Italy.
Don’t Cry for Me, Motherland / Captive of
War, 140x160 cm, mixed media, acrylic on
canvas, 2023
Beyond Purple, 100x100 cm, mixed
media, acrylic on canvas, 2023
The Way to Bethlehem, 140x120 cm,
oil, acrylic, mixed media on canvas,
2023
Venice, 100x100 cm, acrylic, mixed media on
canvas, 2023