Gvantsa Jishkariani

Gvantsa Jishkariani draws from Soviet-era propaganda art and traditional craft techniques to reflect on the lasting imprints of history and the shifting imagery of contemporary and future culture. Humor weaves through her reflections on personal and societal themes, offering a sharp yet playful lens on complex issues, adversity—experiences that deeply inform her work. Her art moves through states of precarity and emotional exposure, yet remains grounded in strength and resilience. Through this layered approach, Jishkariani engages with memory, identity, and the contradictions of collective experience. ...

Ballon Rouge began as a nomadic gallery in September of 2017. In our first two years we put up exhibitions in Istanbul, London, Los Angeles, Brussels, Sao Paulo, Paris, and New York. Each of the cities we visited was stewarded by a ‘collective member’ - a curator who introduced us to artists and to their respective city’s art scene. In March of 2019 we made Brussels our home city, inaugurating our permanent space. While we will continue to do shows abroad alongside our collective members, our primary location is now Brussels. Besides our own exhibitions, the space in Brussels sometimes hosts invited international galleries to show with us in exchange for a show of ours at theirs - a further continuation of our ethos of collaboration and collectivity. So far we have collaborated or will soon collaborate with Hannah Barry Gallery (London); Melange (Cologne); Galerist (Istanbul); Gallery Artbeat, (Tbilisi); the Pill (Istanbul); Pi Artworks (Istanbul, London); Vitrine (London, Basel). ...