On display are paintings and graphic works by artist Temo Svirely (1964-2014). He spent his childhood in the village of Svir in Western Georgia, and from that stems his sense of nature as a basis for joy. As his works entered exhibitions, he took the pseudonym Svirely (translated from Georgian as “one that comes from Svir”). Since 1993 the artist lived and worked in Kyiv with his wife Iryna and daughter Dali. He loved Georgia and Ukraine. From the first days of Maidan he was one of its activists. Temo left this world too early, leaving a memory of himself as a knight of light.
He managed to depict accurately and clearly the diversity of life’s manifestations – joy and pain, harmony and chaos, light and darkness, the fragility of life and the infinity of space. It is no coincidence that the exhibition “Across the Styx” used the restored work Unicorn (1995) as the centerpiece. Mythical creature, the embodiment of virtue, unicorn exists on the border of two worlds – the real and invisible. It is the symbol of awakening and inner harmony. Like the Morning Star, it shows the way, inspiring people to seek wisdom.
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which has most of the works by Temo Svirely exhibited for the first time, Kyiv artists shared memories of their friend.
Badri GUBIANURI:
“Temo didn’t like sketching, he painted clean. It looked like a game with rhythm and color on paper or canvas. Painting is a path, a movement; you investigate the unknown: not copying nature, but creating something that did not exist before. On Maidan we were together in the most dangerous time, in the epicenter. And this is the nature of an artist, who cannot stay away. Participation in such events is also a kind of painting, but the canvas is different – the public one. Temo had the strength to fight. He was a hero, a true samurai, who maintained the inner harmony and acted in his own reality.”
UNICORN (1995)
Boris YEGHIAZARYAN:
“I am looking at the Unicorn – it’s brilliant! Temo was endowed with creative intuition (because the real art is done not with the mind, and not with the heart, but with something given from above, through inner experience; you abandon yourself and unite with the spiritual – God). More clearly we see this now, when two years have passed since he left to eternity. Everything opens anew, and his works are to be admired.”
David SHARASHIDZE:
“Temo Svirely was a great artist, versatile and very demanding for himself. Always open, friendly, and understanding. People believed him. He was unselfish, always ready to give the light of the soul.”
Matvii VAISBERG:
“In the words of Niko Pirosmani, ‘painting is a strike in the eyes!’ and that’s why a true artist is able to change the world. The pictures by Temo Svirely always have something new in them. They are interesting in all aspects of it – be it aesthetic, ethical, or formal. They have what is called easy breathing. He was a unique artist and a man. His works on display can be viewed for a long time – and this is a sign of true art.”
