ALEXANDER (SANDRO) ANTADZE.

I was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1972. My creativity probably started in childhood: I drew a smiling dog

that made my parents happy when I was about six. I remember their emotions... joy, smile, and pride.

Since then, by drawing something, I felt I could make close people and myself happy, because the

positive emotion that comes out of me and makes others joyful comes back to me eventually. This is

probably the main thing in life: we exist to exchange emotions and please each other; presumably, that

child still lives inside me and makes me happy with every painting. My art is based on this endeavor.

Here's what I want to say: For example, the series of animals I painted all my life is based on human love

for positivity; I paint animals mostly smiling. I started painting this series in the 90s when Georgia was in

a challenging political and economic transitional period from communism to capitalism; there was much

chaos; people were hopeless and depressed including me and painting was my survival at that time .

Once, I was going to a birthday party, but I did not have any money for a present, and what I could do

was draw something. I drew a smiling cow on cardboard and gave it to a friend; it made her happy and

smile appeared at her face; after that, she always greeted me with the same emotion. I realized that my

goal is to give people joy and hope. Since then, I have started drawing smiling, friendly animals.

My other series of canvases is dedicated to positive emotions as well: the Aircraft and Space series is a

symbol of the perseverance of freedom and determination, even though flying in the air is not a natural

condition for a person and is often dangerous, but one still flies towards their goals, one still strives for a

better life.

The next series, "Everything is Changing, " are images of old electronic devices associated with my

childhood memories. These devices once gave the greatest joy to people. We used to listen to our

favorite music, watch programs, cartoons, and movies, got to know the world with the support of these

gadgets. Today these things are no longer next to us. Today we use different devices and gadgets, but

looking at those old ones, we remember the old forgotten emotions; we become nostalgic. We remember

the sound, the smell, the temperature, our grandparents, straightening a TV antenna, fixing the phone

cable, typing manners... everything changes, We change, too, but the human longing for kindness and

happiness stays the same.