Tamuna Sirbiladze, Pomegranate (2015), via Art Observed
Artist Tamuna Sirbiladze’s first solo exhibition in the United States, at New York’s Half Gallery combines oil-stick on unstretched canvas, accented by an intuitive emphasis on interior design and decorative elements inside the gallery, emphasizing its position as a formerly domestic space.  Taking the artist’s signature style as a starting point, the works seem to move towards a more expansive, space-oriented technique.
Tamuna Sirbiladze, Bubbles (2015), via Art Observed
Tamuna Sirbiladze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and now lives in Vienna, where she attended the Vienna Sate Academy until 2003. The widow of Franz West, with whom she often collaborated, Sirbiladze has often used an explosive, flourishing hand to illustrate human figures and scenes, often executed at a rapid speed, the pieces incorporate text alongside the female form, although often depicted without faces.
Tamuna Sirbiladze, Picasso’s Pigeon (2015), via Art Observed
Here, however, Sirbiladze’s work takes on a more abstractly executed form, often relying on subjects outside her normal ouevre.  This particular series of works features works depicting pigeons, a vase, and other objects, all accompanied variety of abstract shapes and loose accents.  Siribiladze’s scrawled, colorful and raw banner works are pinned to walls of the gallery which are also slathered with wide brush strokes, “teetering†(as the press release describes) between drawing and painting, figurative and gestural.  Titled Take it Easy, there’s a certain effortlessness about these pieces, rendered in Sirbiladze’s quick hand, but emphasizing the negative space between strokes.
Tamuna Sirbiladze, Pink Plant (2015), via Art Observed
This series of works, originally presented in a group show at Secession in Vienna, and curated by Ugo Rondinone, offers an extended view of Sirbiladze’s work.  Her colorful slashes of color are reminiscent of her previous work, yet placed in an opposition between canvas and wall.  The result is an exhibition that pushes the artist’s work beyond the limits of the canvas, using similar compositional techniques to explore her work in three dimensional space.
Tamuna Sirbiladze, Take It Easy (Installation View), via Art Observed
Sirbiladze has exhibited with Jonathan Viner in London and Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zurich. In October, she will have another exhibition with James Fuentes in New York. Â The current exhibition of works opened on August 4th, and will continue through September 3, 2015.
Tamuna Sirbiladze, Take It Easy (Installation View), via Half Gallery
— E. Baker
Related Links:
Exhibition Page [Half Gallery]
