Levan Lagidze "Bach Exercises"

The iconic and reclusive Georgian painter, Levan Lagidze, returns to London for the first time in 20 years with "Bach Exercises", an exhibition of new works. The theme of tirelessly looking deeper beneath the surface, sharing profound experiences, and gratitude runs throughout his work. Lagidze’s highly structured and layered paintings share experiences through abstraction, connecting to universal narratives such as landscape and urbanisation. He is fond of saying “I don’t want to surprise or shock you, I only want to share with you.”

This desire to share makes Lagidze’s abstract works not at all abstract. If there is such a thing, his paintings are emotional hyperrealism. You need only look at “Spring. After the Rain” to be transported to a familiar feeling, a place in memory.

Through layers of colour and structure Lagidze entices us to look deeper into his paintings, to discover more. As Nana Jorjadze, the Georgian film director and scriptwriter aptly commented, “Inside every square of Levan Lagidze's work is a separate universe." His works must be seen in person as the hidden universes remain hidden in the two-dimensionality of mobile phone and computer screens.

Lagidze says that creating a composition is like “measuring eternity with careful steps”. In "Bach Exercises", the title reflects the ‘cadence’ of the paintings, where the myriad of tiny universes built up along a grid intermingle in a symphony of rich chromatic notes. Through this rhythm Lagidze seeks to know the universe through colour as Bach did through sound.