Flors, 2024

Avtandil Modebadze   New & remarkable Artists

Avtandil Modebadze (b. 1991) is a versatile artist, stage, and costume designer whose work spans painting, photo collage, installation, and video installation. He studied at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, first focusing on media arts before transitioning to the Faculty of Fine Arts, where he specialized in Theater Painting (2008-2012).

Modebadze made his professional debut at the Rustaveli Theater with Peter Turrini’s Finally and followed it with the French play Vive le Bouc! by Jean Dell and Gérard Sibleyras in 2010/2011. His scenographic talent was further recognized in 2011 when he created a model for William Shakespeare's The Tempest for the Prague Quadrennial selection exhibition.

Between 2012 and 2013, he gained further recognition through his work on the GDS TV series No Panic as a costume designer and production designer. During this time, he also worked on his thesis at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, focusing on stage design and costumes for Albert Camus' The Misunderstanding. His studies continued in Germany, where he attended a masterclass led by Klaus Hipp in Munich, specializing in special painting and scenography for opera.

Modebadze’s career flourished with collaborations at the Royal District Theatre, where he worked on several productions, including Olympic Games and Marina Revia. In 2017, he was invited to Munich to contribute to Gaetano Donizetti’s opera Lucia di Lammermoor and participated in group exhibitions such as "Green" at the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery and the Tbilisi Contemporary Art Fair Artisterium.

His work at the Kote Marjanishvili Theater includes scenography and costume design for Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck. Modebadze also ventured into educational projects, curating the award-winning "Contemporary Art Map," aimed at engaging children with contemporary art within museum spaces.

His diverse artistic engagements extended to wearable art with the creation of The Craftsman, a latex apron installation presented at Artarea Gallery. From 2018 to 2020, he served as the creative director for the Georgian children's brand Spilou, blending interactive design with cultural heritage.

Recent works include collaborations with Romanian director Adrian Giurgea for productions such as Henrik Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman and The Good John Proctor by Talene Monahon at Colgate University in New York.