Fascinated by the ever-changing landscape of Georgia during the 1980s and 1990s, Karlo Kacharava (1964–1994), the Georgian artist, poet and critic, made a series of whimsical but melancholy works depicting the people and places he encountered during his short life.
Kacharava died aged 30 from complications of a blow to the head he received from a robber, but his works continue to shape Georgian art today.
For his first museum solo show outside his homeland, Sentimental Traveller at Ghent's municipal contemporary art museum, S.M.A.K., gathers a collection of his paintings, illustrated diaries, and works on paper.
While exploring themes of youth, identity, and family relationships, Kacharava's paintings depict people in cityscapes inspired by his travels in cities such as Tbilisi, Cologne, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow.
Kacharava's contemplative characters are positioned against vivid colour schemes of striking orange or icy blue, all rendered in a style reminiscent of Edvard Munch.
In the acrylic on canvas painting Sentimental Traveler (1993), Kacharava depicts various characters in a stark winter landscape. A stoic, uniformed man observes several female figures, each of whom looks grave, perhaps suffering. Above them, kerosene lamps reference the energy crisis in Georgia during the 1990s.
The exhibition is part of Europalia Georgia, an arts festival dedicated to the cultural and creative wealth of Georgia, and is on view at S.M.A.K. until 14 April 2024.
