In a groundbreaking moment for Georgian contemporary art, Tbilisi-based Gallery Fotoatelier has made history as the first Georgian photography gallery to be featured at the internationally renowned Bonhams auction house in London. This debut represents a significant cultural milestone — not only for Georgia but for the broader post-Soviet artistic landscape.
At the heart of this historic event were two photographic series presented by Fotoatelier, both rich with personal and political resonance. These works were selected for their profound narrative depth and their ability to illuminate memory, myth, and identity across generations and borders.
One of the series, Accidental Portraits by Giorgi Shengelia, emerges from the ashes of a burned family archive. In this evocative work, Shengelia confronts the fragility of personal history and the endurance of memory through haunting, layered imagery.
Elena Karusaar, one of three photographs for Parajanov’s film Ashik-Kerib various sizes.
The second series, by Estonian-born Soviet photographer Elena Karusaar, offers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of Ashik Kerib — the final film by legendary Georgian-Armenian director Sergei Parajanov. Shot in 1988 and based on Mikhail Lermontov’s tale of love and perseverance, Ashik Kerib is a kaleidoscopic tribute to Azerbaijani folklore and Georgian cinematic artistry.
A Life Behind the Lens: Elena Karusaar
Born in Leningrad in 1946, Elena Karusaar began her career in film as a sound engineer at Lenfilm Studio before transitioning into photography in the mid-1970s. By 1977, she was one of the USSR’s few full-time feature photographers, known for her ability to capture the psychological depth of her subjects.
Karusaar’s collaboration with directors like Dinara Asanova and Ilya Averbakh helped refine her distinctive, intimate style. But it was her work on Ashik Kerib that stands as a pinnacle of her legacy. Her photographs — which at first glance appear to be simple behind-the-scenes shots — upon closer inspection, unfold as detailed visual poems capturing every facet of Parajanov’s world: props, costumes, makeup, set design, and fleeting emotional cues.
At Bonhams, three selected prints from Karusaar’s Ashik Kerib series sold for a combined £7,600 (approx. $9,700) — a strong affirmation of international interest in her work and in post-Soviet visual histories more broadly.
From Auction Block to Exhibition Hall
Riding the wave of this success, Gallery Fotoatelier is now preparing a full-scale exhibition of Karusaar’s complete Ashik Kerib photo series, set to open this autumn. The show promises to offer audiences a deeper immersion into one of the most visually inventive films of Soviet cinema — through the eyes of the woman who preserved its making for posterity.
This moment also marks a wider awakening to the power of photographic archives from the region. As a platform dedicated to unearthing and elevating Georgian and post-Soviet photographic voices, Gallery Fotoatelier stands at the vanguard of a new movement — one that blends memory and myth, legacy and innovation, East and West.
For more information, visit galleryfotoatelier.com or view the Bonhams listing here.
