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1921-1995
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Otari Shiuk died in the Spring of 1995. During his prolific carrier, first in Soviet Georgia, then Moscow, Russia, and finally in the United States, Otari came to be recognized as one of the premier modern impressionist artists. |
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Otari was awarded numerous state fellowships during his three years at the Tbilisi Art Academy, one of the most prestigious art schools in the Soviet Union. Upon graduation from the Academy in 1950, he earned a Doctorate of Arts degree and joined the Academy as a professor. Otari quickly established himself as a talented and powerful artist, whose work included not only paintings but set designs for theater and film. In 1954, he was commissioned to design the sets for the Bolshoi Ballet's production of "Boris Godunov" and for the movie "Romeo and Juliet", produced by Moscow Film. The artist achieved international recognition in 1954, when his portrait of Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova was awarded the Gold Medal at the international competition and exhibition in Vienna, Austria. In the same year, Otari became a member of the prestigious Soviet National Academy of the Arts. |
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During the next thwenty-five years, Otari became known, nationally and internationally, as one of the foremost Russioan romantic realists. From 1954 to 1978, Otari combined his artistic carrier in Moscow with teaching art in the Georgian Academy of Art. His paintings were commissioned by numerous major Soviet galleries and museums as well as many private collectors, including prominent members of government, and the art and science communities. In 1979, notwithstanding professional and financial success, the artist and his family left the Soviet Union for the United States. |
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Otari's technical excellence, unique artistic vision, and raw talent only intensified in his new country. His work, generally described as impressionist-realist, challenges and at the same time expands the traditional boundaries of realist art. The artist's bold approach to color, composition, and technique is particularly vivid in his depiction of flowers and landscapes. In contrast, Otari's portraits, including his unforgettable self-portraits, draw their quiet energy from the subjects' inner spirit, within the best traditions of realist art. |
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Otari Shiuk was born and lived in Tbilisi, the capital of the Soviet Georgia. From 1954 to 1978, the artist lived and worked in Moscow. From 1979 until 1995, the time of his death, the artist lived and worked in the United States, first in New York and then in Washington, D.C. |
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The artist's paintings are held in the collections of many major museums throughout the Former Soviet Union (Moscow State Museum; Russian Ministry of Culture Collection; St-Petersburg State Museum; Kiev State Museum; Volgograd State Museum; and Baku State Museum). Otari's works have also been exhibited in major shows in Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Austria, and Taiwan. Dozens of private collections are enriched by one, two and, on ocassion, five to ten of Otari's works. |
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In the United States,
Otari's work has been exhibited and sold in: |
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