MAMUKA DIDEBA is one of those rare artists who speaks equally eloquently through the figurative and the abstract. His art is a unique expression of the surreal and warm perspective that is quintessential of the wondrous country of Georgia where he lives and works.

In his figurative works, Dideba is inspired by the Old Masters, creating nuanced characters inhabiting worlds outside of time and place, their exaggerated forms suggestive of their character and profession. His figures seem alive, as if they are about to step off the canvas and start a conversation.

In his abstracted works, which he describes as an exercise in “absolute freedom”, Dideba creates richly contemplative worlds built of an ingenious interplay of light and colour, imperceptibly changing tones, and evocative shapes - whether it be to evoke enchanting cities, landscapes, melodies or memories.

Dideba paints in the Renaissance-era imprimatura technique, applying a transparent layer of colour to the canvas before starting the painting as well as between paint layers. This creates an interaction with light that causes subtle changes in colour and makes the painting seem lit up from within.

Mamuka Dideba (aka Mamuka Didebashvili, b. 1968, Tbilisi, Georgia), is a graduate of the prestigious Tbilisi State Art Academy. He is known as “Georgia's Bruegel” because of his deviation from realistic proportions and interest in human behaviour. Widely exhibited internationally, Dideba’s work was shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.