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Luca Lazar (Luka Lasareishvili)
Overview

Luca Lazar (aka Luka Lasareishvili) is a German artist, originally from Georgia (former Soviet Union), who has been living and working in New York City, USA since 2003. He works in a variety of media: painting, installations, objects and video art. His works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums, including Museum Fridericianum (Germany), Ermitage (Russia), COBRA Museum (Netherlands), Georgian National Museum (Georgia). Lazar’s works are included in museum, private, public and corporate collection, among which Moscow MoMA, Museum Ludwig (Germany), National Tretiakov Gallery (Moscow), Gallery de France (Paris, France), Henri Nannen Stiftung (Germany), State Art Museum Tbilisi (Georgia), the Zimmerli Art Museum (USA), City of Cologne and City of Strasbourg. He is a recipient of several awards and honors. Lazar holds a M.A. of the academy of arts of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Biography

Luca Lazar (Luka Lasareishvili) was born on 14 November 1957 in Tbilisi, the Republic of Georgia (former Soviet Union). He studied in Tbilisi, Georgia at the Nikoladze Art College from 1972 to 1976, followed by his studies at the State Art Academy from 1976 to 1982 from which he graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts degree. Since 1982 he has been working as an independent, professional artist and participated in numerous solo- and group exhibitions. From 1985 until 1988 Lazar lived and worked in Moscow, Russia. He then moved on to Paris, France, where he was invited as an artist-in-residence by the Gallery Bernard Felly. The next year, 1989, Lazar spent in Kassel, Germany as an artist-in-residence with the Museum Fridericianum. From 1990 until 2003 Lazar lived and worked in Cologne, Germany. During his time in Germany, sweeping changes were taking place in his native region that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the declaration of independence of Georgia and was followed by armed conflicts and civil war in his country of origin. As Lazar was unable to return, he stayed on in Germany, where he eventually received citizenship. From 1997 until 2005 he held a position as lecturer at the European Academy of Fine Arts in Trier, Germany. In 2003 Lazar relocated to New York City, USA, where he has continued his artistic career.

Work

Soon after his graduation from the State Art Academy in Tbilisi in 1982, Luca Lazar started experimenting with non-figurative, abstract painting, which at the time was still controversial and against the communist party line for the arts. This made it difficult for Lazar to find opportunities to exhibit in his native Georgia. As a thaw had set in at the time (the first signs of Glasnost and Perestroika had surfaced) in Moscow, he moved there in the mid 80-ies and joined the Avant-garde movement there. In Moscow in 1987 he participated in the first group exhibition of abstract art by Georgian artists in the Exhibition Hall “Ermitage”. The exhibition received a lot of attention and interest and shortly after he was able to show in France at the invitation of Gallery Felly. Extending his stay in France, he was invited the following year, 1989, to spend a one-year residency with Museum Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany.

During the roughly 15 years that Luca Lazar lived in Europe, following his departure from the then-still Soviet Union, he also departed from his up-to-then abstract explorations and developed in other directions. He worked in variety of media and according to different artistic approaches: painting, installations, objects and video art; conceptual and figurative art. He participated in numerous exhibitions and his works were awarded several prizes, including special prize by Art Critics Jury for individual style for painting at the International Exhibition in the House of Arts, Cagnes, France; as well as the Ursula Blicke Art Prize for Installation, 1st prize for Crusade III (with special recognition by Ilya Kabakov –see catalogue (ISBN 3-930043-08-4)).

Over the years, and particularly since his move to New York, Luca Lazar has come to return to abstract painting again and has continued his exploration and discovery of its many possibilities, while having now strongly established his individual signature style, with a minimal abstract series that he calls "Moving Stills".

The underlying principle of the works of "Moving Stills" has been described as:

''“controlled energy, raw powers created through and at the same time restricted by spatial structures and the arrangement of interlocking lines. Using a reduced vocabulary of minimalist forms, the untitled individual works in this series provide the suggestion of energetic movement within a motionless, frozen setting. The works are not informed by any kind of anticipation of what the viewer may or may not see in them, but rather are to be understood by making the actual attempt of leaving the ways of perception behind that we are so accustomed to, in order to be “felt” quite intuitively in an act of self-communication.”'' (source Marcel Krenz, art critic, in Catalogue “Luca Lazar: Moving Stills” Gallery Schüppenhauer Köln, ISBN 3-926226-59-5)

Currently, from his studio in Long Island City, New York, Luca Lazar continues to advance the serial production of the "Moving Stills"-concept.

Select Exhibitions

2012 “Georgian artists of the 80s and 90s”, The National Museum Tbilisi, Georgia

2011 “Festinova” – Art festival, Georgian Art Centre “Garikula”, Georgia“Georgian Artists working in Europe”, as part of European days events –Tbilisi, Georgia

2010 “ART MOSCOW”- Moscow “COINCIDENCE” - Spektre Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (USA)

2009 “Born in Georgia”, Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen, NL, (K)“L’Art Contemporian De Georgie” Chateau de Saint-Auvent, (France)‘’ Tbilissi Underground’ 09’’    (France)

2008 ‘’Paris Montparnasse Tbilissi’’ Le Musse du Montparnsse, Paris, (France) (K)

2007 55 Mercer Gallery – ‘’Moving Stills’’ New York, NY (USA)

2006 A Space Gallery - presents ‘’Intrinsic Form’’ Brooklyn, NY (USA)

2005/2006 “Moving Stills”, Gallery Schüppenhauer, Cologne (Germany)

2005 Grant Gallery ‘’Mysticism in Art’’ New York, NY, (USA)

2004 “Art from Perestroika till today”, State Art Museum, Tbilisi (Georgia) –(k)“Invitation to a Beheading”, Gallery Schüppenhauer, Cologne (Germany)

2003 "Statements Basel-Köln”, Gallery Kämpf, Basel (Switzerland) and Gallery Schüppenhauer, Cologne (Germany)

2002 “ART Frankfurt” (Germany)

2001 "One-liners", Gallery Jule Kewenig Frechen-Bachem (Germany)

2000 "The White Curtain", Gallery Schüppenhauer, Cologne (Germany)

1999 "Fazit" - Moving Images, Neon-installation, Gallery Schüppenhauer, Cologne (Germany)

1998 "Transformation" Installation - UNESCO, Paris (France)-(k) "The Bridging" Installation art in public space, Cologne (Germany)"Opposite of Eden" Installation, Art House Kaufbeuren (Germany)-(k)"Dialogue" Museum for Regional History and Art, Buxtehude (Germany)-(k)

1997 "The Conscience" - "STADT(t)ART" Installation Art countrywide cooperation project, Hürth (Germany) -(k) "M.E.S.S.A.G.E." Positions of current art –Video-installation Gallery Schüppenhauer, Cologne (Germany)-(k)

1996 "Dialogue" Leopold Hoisch Museum, Düren (Germany)-(k) 1995 Art Cologne 4, Josef-Haubrich-Art-Hall, Cologne (Germany)-(k)Ursula-Blickle-Art-Prize for "Installation", 1st prize, Ursula-Blickle-Foundation, Kraichtal (Germany) -(k)

1994 "Last Supper" - Gallery Jule Kewenig, Frechen-Bachem (Germany)             (In the Showroom of Gallery Johnen& Schöttle, Cologne) –(k)

1993 "Crusades III" - Installation, Cologne (Germany) (in cooperation with Gallery Friedrich, Cologne)

1992 "The Cradle of Humanity", Frankfurt am Main (Germany) (In cooperation with Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance and the Worldwide Life Foundation)-(k)

1991 Two Georgian Painters – Museum St. Wendel (Germany)-(k)

1990 "Georgia on my Mind" - Four Painters from Tbilisi, Dumont Art Hall, Cologne (Germany)-(k)Paintings from Georgia, Mona-Bismarck-Foundation, Paris (France)-(k)International Exhibition in the House of Arts, Cagnes (France): 2nd prize by Art critics jury-(c)Two Georgian Painters – Arts Hall Kiel (Germany)

1989 Soviet Contemporary Art, Hôtel de Ville Strabourg (France) (with Ilya Kabakov)-(c)Exhibition on new Soviet Painting, Warschau (Poland)-(c)"Perestroika Man" - Three Georgian Painters, Soviet Art House, Moscow (Russia)-(c)"Georgia on my Mind" - Four Painters from Tbilisi, Museum Fridericianum, Kassel (Germany) –(c)

1988 "Glasnost" - the new freedom of Russian painters, Art Hall Emden (Germany)-New Art from the USSR and Bulgaria, Dallas (USA)

1987 "Generation-80", House of Arts Tbilisi (Georgia)Exhibition Georgian Abstract Art, Exhibition Hall "Ermitage", Moscow (Russia)First Group Exhibition of abstract art by Georgian artists, State Paintings Gallery, Tbilisi (Georgia)"Interart-87", International Art Market/Bourse of Socialist countries, Warschau (Poland)

since 1982 Participation in several exhibition throughout the Soviet Union

Select weblinks

http://www.lucalazar.com/home.html official website of artist Luca Lazar (Luka Lasareishvili)

http://momaps1.org/studio-visit/artist/luca-lazar

http://www.art.gov.ge/artists.php?lang=En&artist=374

http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/56523-luka-lasareishvili

http://kaukasus.blogspot.com/2012/09/georgian-artists-of-80s-and-90s-in.html

http://www.karinthomas.eu/bibliografie.php?DOC_INST=6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU_LT_h-KNw

http://www.propagandaweb.ge/artist.php?id=21

http://www.travelwithjan.com/gallery2/main.php/gallery/2012georgiatbilisi/museum/IMG_0027.JPG.html

http://www.artfacts.net/en/artist/luka-lasareishvili-132411/profile.html

http://www.worldcat.org/title/georgia-on-my-mind-vier-maler-aus-tbilissi-tiflis-alexander-bandzeladze-gia-edzgveradze-luka-lasareishvili-iliko-zautashvili/oclc/027240405

http://www.worldcat.org/title/ursula-blickle-kunstpreis-95-installation-0411-031295/oclc/57455251&referer=brief_results

https://www.artist-info.com/users/artsitpublicpag http://www.smartsgallery.com/artists/lucalazar/ewithoutportfoilo/107007

http://www.amazon.de/s-s-Positionen-aktueller-Kunst-Lasareishvili/dp/3926226404

http://www.ncca.ru/mediaitem?filial=2&itemid=3360&listpage=2

http://www.ncca.ru/mediaitem?filial=2&itemid=3359&listpage=11

http://www.cobra-museum.nl/en/archive.html

http://www.8weekly.nl/artikel/7059/diverse-kunstenaars-born-in-georgia-hedendaagse-kunst-uit-georgie-haaienkaken-en-leren-jurken.html

http://www.amstelveenweb.com/nieuws-Born-in-Georgia-in-het-Cobra-Museum&newsid=87402576

http://books.google.com/books/about/Georgia_on_my_mind_Alexander_Bandzeladze.html?id=2zk0twAACAAJ

http://www.leo-bw.de/web/guest/detail/-/Detail/details/DOKUMENT/wlbblb_labi/911426/Installation++Ursula-Blickle-Preis+'95+%3B+411-31295+%3B+%5BLuka+Lasareishvili+Stephen+Prina+Wolfgang+Stiller%5D+-+Ursula-Blickle-Stiftung;jsessionid=4D6A4D5B0C5F6BAD2EE0FDB2343CA671