The Why Not Gallery Gallery in Tbilisi
Chugureti · Contemporary programme
Editorial Profile
The Why Not Gallery occupies a particular position within contemporary art in Tbilisi: founded in 2018 by artist Gvantsa Jishkariani and curator Ellen Kapanadze, it began as an experimental not-for-profit vitrine project in an underground passageway before moving into a permanent space in 2020. Its identity remains tied to that origin—small-scale, agile, and oriented toward artists whose practices are still taking shape—yet its program now operates as a commercial gallery with an explicit focus on supporting young Georgian artists and giving many of them early solo presentations. From its base in Chugureti, the gallery contributes to a local ecosystem in which independent initiatives, studio-based practices, and emerging galleries in Tbilisi often carry much of the city’s contemporary energy.
Its exhibition history suggests a program attentive to painting, installation, performance, video, textile-based work, and forms of personal or political narration. Projects such as Shalva Nikvashvili’s Ai Ia (this is a Viola), it is a Flower, Ana Chaduneli’s immersive What if you were in my garden, and Malkhaz Gorgadze’s Lost Paradise show a range that moves between younger experimental voices and historically overlooked Georgian figures. The gallery’s artist list includes Gvantsa Jishkariani, Nata Varazi, Tornike Bendeliani, Tamaz Nutsubidze, Malkhaz Gorgadze, and others, reinforcing its role as a platform for Georgian contemporary practice rather than a broadly international roster. Its participation in Tbilisi Art Fair, Tbilisi Independent x Frieze Galleries at No.9 Cork Street, and NADA membership since 2023 gives the project a visibility that extends beyond the local scene while remaining grounded in the specific conditions of Georgian art production.
Selected Artists
Gvantsa Jishkariani
Georgian
Nata Varazi
Georgian
Tornike Bendeliani
Georgian
Erekle Chinchilakashvili
Georgian
Tamaz Nutsubidze
Georgian
Mariam Akhobadze
Georgian
Malkhaz Gorgadze
Georgian
Tamara Lortkipanidze
Georgian
Selected Exhibitions
Static Exercises
Mariam Akhobadze
Catalogue of Sensory Data
Nata Varazi, Gvantsa Jishkariani
Hiding Within the Soft Surface
Nata Varazi
Black Hole Party
Natia Sapanadze
Tears Don’t Care Who Cries
Tamara Lortkipanidze
Fictionfunctionfiction
Nika Gabiskiria, Ulla Alla, Luka Abashidze
Slow Sun
Erekle Chinchilakashvili, Sopo Mamaladze
First Days
Tornike Bendeliani
Explore Tbilisi
A local guide to Tbilisi, with links to its galleries, institutions, and wider Georgia art context.
