The art of book design - the leading creativity of David Gabashvili.
The artist is a native of Tbilisi, where he was born in 1914, lives here and works. The ancient and eternally young Tbilisi is a wonderful city, founded over a thousand years ago at the crossroads from East to West illustrating an organic fusion of Oriental and European cultures, is a constant source of artistic inspiration.
In the family, where he grew up, young David, were artists, musicians, actors, and so his early experiences in drawing was noticed and supported. In 1933 Gabashvili entered the Tbilisi Academy of fine arts in graphic Department and graduated in 1938. His teacher became a prominent schedule and the theatrical artist Iosif Adolfovich Charlemagne (1880-1957), from 1918, worked in Georgia, one of the founders of the Academy of arts of the Georgian SSR. Here at the Academy since 1922, preparations were national artistic shots and great attention was paid to the study of national artistic heritage.
David Gabashvili has declared itself in the first days of the great Patriotic war, when it appeared and became widely known for his satirical poster "we Will beat this scum never rose" (1941). The image of the soldier piercing the bayonet fascist head hideous monster, embodied the strength and prowess of the Soviet Army, joined the battle with the enemy.
Interest in the book as a work of art was peculiar Gabashvili from the first creative steps, but its Prime as an artist-designer of books and book graphics refers to the late 50's-early 70-ies, when fully manifested its fine and original gift. Using terse, but expressive detail the artist is able to introduce the reader to the contents of the book, to convey a sense of the era, her style, starting with the cover. Simple and restrained design books "Georgian Military highway" (1956), "Architectural monuments of Meskheti" (1957). The character of the medieval topography with wide open and fixed on the reader's eyes with a gesture of hand with the model of the temple, as it offers to enter the circle of problems of the book "Ancient Architects of Georgia" (1956). Black silhouette characteristic of the Tbilisi balcony with openwork lattice gives a feel for the architectural atmosphere of the old Tbilisi and other Georgian cities (V. Beridze "Tbilisi Architecture 1801-1917 it is years" vol. 1, 1960).
Interesting work Gabashvili and on execution of works of fiction. So, the first volume of the "Decameron" by Boccaccio in the Georgian language designed in the spirit of Renaissance engravings, which allowed the artist to achieve stylistic unity of content and image books.
Strict and impeccable taste is not just for Gabashvili - book artist and master of easel graphics. Expressive drawing and coloring a series of industrial landscapes ("Kvartskhava-oil", 1945, gouache; "Construction Samgori", 1953, gouache) give an idea of the broad possibilities of an artist's palette.
Events Georgian national history became the story of one of the large easel paintings of David Gabashvili "Departure of Queen Tamara" (50-ies, tempera). A romantic vision of the world, Appeal to the national origins of art, Georgian legends helped the artist to re-create whole and complex world of medieval Georgia. However, the characters in the movie seem to be fairy tale characters, as if descended from the walls of the monuments of ancient Georgian architecture.
The exquisite taste of the master appeared and he created the posters ("For the centenary of Akaki Tsereteli", 1941, gouache), theatrical posters (the poster for the play "Henry VIII", 1943, gouache).
Gabashvili tried his hand at sculpture, creating a concise, restrained funds, the portraits of his contemporaries (portrait of the artist David Kakabadze, 1967).
A significant place in creative activity of David Gabashvili is teaching. Since 1945 he has been teaching at the Academy of arts of the Georgian SSR, where he trained many talented artists. In 1963 he was awarded the title of Professor.
The merits of David A. Gabashvili in the development of Georgian Soviet culture received a high rating, in 1964, he was awarded the honorary title of honored art worker of the Georgian SSR.
