Loretta Shengelia – Honored Artist of Georgia (1982), graphic artist, and painter, graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1966, where she mastered the art of drawing and graphic under  Lado Grigolia and Sergo Kobuladze.

Loretta Shengelia has significantly contributed to the development of Georgian books and graphic art. “The Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik” is considered to be one  of the best among the illustrations of this piece of Georgian literature of the 5^th  century. She also made illustratations for “A Book of Wisdom and Lies,” “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”, Otia Ioseliani’s short stories, Goethe’s “The Sorrows of the Young Werther”, and Shakespeare’s plays “Richard III,” “Otello, “ and “Julius Caesar”, as well as  many collections of Georgian poets.

“The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” illustrated by her is preserved in the Hermitage Museum, the Universitiies of St. Petersburg and Sorbonne (Paris), and the World Calligraphy Museum (Moscow).

In addition to the book illustrations the artist has created a series of large-scale graphic compositions and portraits. Her engravings are mostly made in etching techniques, where all methods of metal engraving are used to achieve artistic effect.

Parallel to creative activity, she has taught   at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. She is a professor (1997) and a laureate of the Order of Honor (2002).

Since 1984, Loretta Shengelia has had solo exhibitions in Germany, France, Italy, and Russia.

She received the Grand Prix at the Union Exhibition of Etching (1991).