ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yuri Shakhoian
Yuri Shakhoian's artistic practice involves transformation of ancient forms without preliminary sketches. He takes archetypes of masks, balbals, and skulls and runs them through modern materials and processes. For him, the material is primarily memory that absorbs temperature, pressure, direction, weathering, cracks, and fire, preserving the act of physical presence rather than information.
The artist explores a face as a field of metamorphosis, transforming an ancient face - mask. He does not create portraits. For him, working with a face is a method, where the personal acquires the scale of a myth, and a myth acquires embodiment. And this face is reborn every time.
The artist explores a face as a field of metamorphosis, transforming an ancient face - mask. He does not create portraits. For him, working with a face is a method, where the personal acquires the scale of a myth, and a myth acquires embodiment. And this face is reborn every time.
Mr. Shakhoian illustrates history through texture. Portraits of neighbors on the walls of a Tbilisi courtyard and panoramas made of plasticine are his first steps, which became intertwined with his passion for history and ethnography and defined his mature approach: history is not told, but felt through the material. Ancient forms pass through modern material and emerge transformed.
The scale of his works varies from small forms that can be held in the palm of your hand to a 12-meter concrete column. Between these poles are human-sized masks, wooden posts, and metal structures.Objects exist beyond the usual division into "gallery" and "street" type: they can stand outside as sculptures, inside a gallery, or just as an installation.Monumentality dictates direct relationship to the viewer, without the mediation of display cases.
PROJECTS
Since 2019, an immersive project-exhibition called "Eternity Game" has been presented in various cities including Novosibirsk, Omsk, Moscow, Khakassia, Tomsk, Irkutsk, and Salekhard. A multifaceted mask with video mapping is at the center of the exhibition: the projection changes the texture, creating a new face made of leaves, water, fire, metal, and concrete. Space acts like a magnifying glass, allowing the viewer to see the transformation process of the material.
In 2023-2024, the Faces of Siberia and Faces of Altai public art festivals emerged from the exhibition, where Shakhian's mask became a canvas for artists from all over Russia.
In 2026, the project has evolved into a performance, where hundreds of participants, one by one, will touch a 110-centimeter-high clay mask, leaving a physical trace.
After that, the artist will work with the object, integrating the traces of the participants into the aesthetics. This performance captures the point of transition - the moment, when a person is still touching, but no longer believes that it matters.
Yuri Shakhoian rarely participates in competitions and festivals, maintaining a private practice outside academic and institutional frameworks. Nevertheless, he is an award winner in the "Innovation" category at the II International Festival "Bone Carving Art of the People of the World" in Magadan, and took part in the III International Triennial of Contemporary Graphics (curatorial project "Living Gypsum" by Slava Mizin). He also held a joint exhibition with Arzhan Yuteev entitled "Temporal Units" in the Republic of Gorny Altai.
In 2023-2024, the Faces of Siberia and Faces of Altai public art festivals emerged from the exhibition, where Shakhian's mask became a canvas for artists from all over Russia.
In 2026, the project has evolved into a performance, where hundreds of participants, one by one, will touch a 110-centimeter-high clay mask, leaving a physical trace.
After that, the artist will work with the object, integrating the traces of the participants into the aesthetics. This performance captures the point of transition - the moment, when a person is still touching, but no longer believes that it matters.
Yuri Shakhoian rarely participates in competitions and festivals, maintaining a private practice outside academic and institutional frameworks. Nevertheless, he is an award winner in the "Innovation" category at the II International Festival "Bone Carving Art of the People of the World" in Magadan, and took part in the III International Triennial of Contemporary Graphics (curatorial project "Living Gypsum" by Slava Mizin). He also held a joint exhibition with Arzhan Yuteev entitled "Temporal Units" in the Republic of Gorny Altai.