Merchant of Vlues, 2026

Michael Makharadze  

Michael Makharadze is a Georgian artist born in 1994 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. His work lies at the intersection of traditional painting and contemporary conceptual thinking. Through symbolic narratives, his paintings explore the human condition, existence, and the fragile process of searching for meaning.He was graduated from Saint Tbel Abuseridze School. The same year he enrolled at Shota Rustaveli State University in Batumi, where he studied philosophy from 2013 to 2018. His academic background in philosophy became a fundamental influence on his artistic practice. After completing his studies, he realized that art was his true passion. In the creative process he experiences what he describes as “the colors of life,” transforming them into a visual philosophy. At the core of Makharadze’s work stands the human being as the highest value and central subject. Through archetypal figures, mythological motifs, and hyperbolized forms, he reflects on themes of identity, absurdity, belief, memory, and the perception of reality. His paintings often depict scenes that appear suspended in time, existing somewhere between past and future, reality and metaphor. Makharadze’s visual language is deeply symbolic. Each painting functions as an independent narrative while simultaneously forming part of a broader imagined world — a parallel reality in which meaning unfolds through association and introspection. Influenced by existential philosophy and speculative thought, his works do not offer direct answers but invite viewers into reflection and personal interpretation.