2019
h200Xw180cm
Canvas, Wood & mix.medium
Sergo Tbileli's artwork "Embroiderers of Fate " created in 2018 is a riveting double sided piece of mixed medium art ,encomporating the detailed brush work Sergo is famous for with his second passion of creating detailed woodcut outs that add depth and meaning to the artworks.
"Embroiderers of Fate" is an engaging mixed-media artwork that depicts a scene of three embroiderers working together at a shop - a detail you can easily see from afar. The Three embroiders are the central figures of the painting being framed by the circular cut-out and highlighting for the viewer their importance. For the Embroiders harken back to the Greek mythical Moirai "The Fates" who classically are depicted as spinners weaving or binding threads of fate. And as in the Greek and Roman myths, each is shown dedicating their craft to different tasks. If we go from right to left we can see how the painter envisioned his version of Moirai, the first androgynous figure holding the needle can be interpreted as "Clotho"- the spinner who was delegated to spinning the thread of fate, here depicted as the embroidered with the needle one who will weave once fate into the universe. The Second figure of the shrouded women can be seen as the "Atropos "- The Unturning who in classical mythology was the cutter of the sheer, the one who would cut the weave of one's fate, after her sister "Lachesis"- The alloter measured the length of once weave (the time they had on earth). Sergo Tbileli can be seen alluding to this for as we see the figure of "Atropis" is looking straight at her sisters hand and the measurement she made. The three fates , Moirai or as Sergo Tbileli named the picture "Embroiders of Fate" held and hold great importance in the Helenistic and post-roman europe. Symbolyzing the idea of predetermined fate ,but the painting seems to not only disregard but use it as a allegory for the idea that the Moirai used to symbolize . Of fate prediterment and inflexible , the figures that we can interpret as the Moirai are transported from their aboad of mythical Greece and the transplanted into the world not to far from ours . Artists transplants the characteristics of the fates to the everyday people , in a way underlining the idea that we are the ones who weave our own fates. And that the future is in the hands of people.
The poignant idea of fate and future being in one's hand is a deep and meaningful one which enriches the idea artist wanted to showcase. But once we go back a bit the prior mentioned idea is made more impactful for as we pull back and start to look around the first thing we see crowning the fates is a star of David, a symbol of Hebrew fate and people. Spread around shining down on the fates, the furniture which is lost in the abstract either almost seems to engulf the figures as if it's an arch. Hence we can conclude that the artist intended for the fates to be Jewish craftsmen whose fate is in their hands and who will craft their own future.
As Tbileli was raised in the capital of Georgia Tbilisi from an early age he saw the diverse culture that the city offered and the synergy of cultures and faiths even under the communist regime and appreciated what he saw. That is doubtless from the way he tries to appreciate the culture and the messages and symbols he intertwined with the painting.
Finally framing the scene with interact lines in shades of green, yellow and blue. The horizontal and vertical lines harshly directing the vision of the viewer to the main figures and the opposing scene of abstract either that is almost anthisis of the lines, flowing with the nature and air bringing a breath of fresh air to the artwork.
Artists utilizes the reverse side of the artwork to create a uplifting image which can be seen as a promise of the spring.
A single bird, a swallow, heralds the start of spring with its arrival. The garden blooms and a new life is born. On the reverse side, we see the promise of this new life of future to be. A hopeful note at the end of the symphony.
Sergo Tbileli is a master of his craft, and this artwork is a great example of it . The artwork is made up of delicate brush work, intricate layers, that bring a opal-esque view for the viewer, from each viewing point, it reveals a new detail at every step. Every time viewer looks at it, they will have a new experience.