Vassily Shukhaev. Neoclassicism – Return to the Ideal

On June 19, 2026, at 18:00, the exhibition “Vassily Shukhaev. Neoclassicism – Return to the Ideal” will open at the Dmitry Shevardnadze National Gallery of Georgia.

The exposition brings together paintings and graphic works by Vassily Shukhaev, the vast majority of which were transferred to the Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts pursuant to the artist’s testament.

The exhibition is dedicated to the conceptualization of the principles of neoclassicism in the oeuvre of Vassily Shukhaev and serves as an opportunity to showcase the artist’s artistic vision and creative heritage. The exposition focuses on such significant artistic principles for Shukhaev’s work as compositional order, clarity of form, and the reinterpretation of the experience of old masters through a contemporary artistic idiom.

Vassily Shukhaev’s oeuvre is closely linked to neoclassicism, which emerged in the early 20th century as a response to the decorative nature of Art Nouveau and the radicalism of the avant-garde. Shukhaev remained faithful to these principles throughout his creative life. His works are distinguished by a clear form, compositional equilibrium, and an endeavor to translate classical artistic tradition into a contemporary artistic language.

Of note is the artist’s participation in the activities of the “Guild of St. Luke the Painter,” founded in Petrograd in 1918 by Dmitry Kardovsky together with his students, Vassily Shukhaev and Alexander Yakovlev. This association constitutes one of the crucial contexts in the formation of Shukhaev’s creative path and his artistic principles.

The exhibition affords the viewer the opportunity to acquaint themselves with a significant part of Vassily Shukhaev’s pictorial and graphic heritage and to perceive his contribution to the development of neoclassicism and the history of 20th-century Georgian art from a new perspective.

Organizer: Dmitry Shevardnadze National Gallery

Curator: Nana Shervashidze