Tengiz Kartvelishvili is a painter, graphic artist, decorator, and exhibition designer, belonging to the generation of Georgian artists from the 1970s. In addition to scenography and poster design, an important direction of his work is painting, with urban landscapes as his main motif. His canvases depict old Tbilisi, often utilizing the collage technique.

In 1974, he graduated from the Tbilisi Academy of Arts, specializing in decorative arts. While still a student, he began working as a set designer at the Public Theater of the Agricultural Institute of Georgia, where he designed seven performances.

Since the 1970s, he has participated in republican and all-Union poster competitions, authoring up to 300 printed posters. From 1978 to 2004, he served as the chief artist and head of the exposition department at the Art Museum of Georgia, creating posters for numerous exhibitions and symposiums held there. In 1985, Tengiz Kartvelishvili was entrusted with organizing an exhibition of world masterpieces from the collection of Armand Hammer, the famous American collector and industrialist, held at the Art Museum of Georgia.

In 1978, he became a member of the Union of Artists of the Soviet Union. In 1983, he was awarded the title of Best Artist of the Year.

In the 1990s, he worked as a film artist, acting as a production designer for the films The Performer (1994, Dir. M. Borashvili), Fear (1996, Dir. Z. Savanelli), and Empty Space (2001, Dir. M. Borashvili).

Tengiz Kartvelishvili has been the head of the exposition and technical group at the Georgian National Museum since 2004.