Besik Arbolishvili

Besik was born on February 17, 1955, in Georgia—a country with a soul as ancient as its landscapes. His father, Mikhail Arbolishvili, was a painter, and his mother was a piano teacher. Growing up surrounded by creativity, he naturally found harmony in the arts. Georgia, with its rich history and enduring cultural depth, has always been an inspiration. It’s a land where ancient echoes live on, even in the discovery of a 1.7-million-year-old hominid skull in its eastern valleys.

He doesn’t plan his paintings in the traditional sense. His process is intuitive—driven not by sketches or blueprints, but by the life he’s lived. The images arrive unannounced, flowing through him like a current. When he creates, he often forgets the act of painting itself. It’s as though he becomes a channel; the work doesn’t belong solely to him—it belongs to everyone.

Daily discipline is essential. Like a priest in prayer, he paints each day to stay in tune with the invisible source of inspiration. He believes that an artist must always be ready to receive the impulse that might become a painting.

He’s often asked what “ism” defines his work—expressionism, surrealism, realism—but he doesn’t subscribe to labels. He simply paints as he is. His art is sha...

1974-1981 Tbilisi State Academy of Art

Group exhibitions
2024- " National Gallery" Tbilisi, Georgia.
2016 - "Emmanuel Fremin Gallery" New York. US.
2015 - "12 Artists" TBC Art Gallery ,Tbilisi,Georgia.
2014 - ART EXPO, New York, US
2013 - SAINT-PIERRE DE MONTMARTRE, Paris, France.
2009 - ART EXPO, New York, US.
2009 - "Spring Vernissage" NoHo, California. US.
2008 - “Vernissage Winter” 2008" NoHo,California. US.
2006 - Gallery “Elite”, Hotel Marriott, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2005 - Gallery “Kopala”, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2003 - Köln, Germany.
1999 - Alla Rogers Gallery, Washington DC, US
1997 - International Art Festival Deco in, Berlin, Germany.
1997 - International Monitory Fund,Wasington DC,US
1997 - Freedom Gallery, Westport, Connecticut, US
1996 - Georgian Art Center in Rein-Rays, Heusen, Germany.
1996 - Georgian Art, Emory University, Atlanta, US
1996 - International Festival of Art, Boston, US
1996 - International Festival of Art “Deco in”, Berlin, Germany.
1995 - First international Festival of Art, Ankara, Turkey.
1994 - Shtainer’s House, Bonn, Germany.
1994 - Cultural Center, Kuwait, Kuwait.
1994 - Georgian Cultural Center, Ingolstadt, Germany.
1991 - Art Center, Duisburg, Germany.
1990 - Phillips Auction , London, England.
1988 - Paris, France.
1984 - National Art Gal...