Batu Siharulidze

Batu Siharulidze
Batu working on "Adam & Eve"
Born	Isidore "Batu" Siharulidze May 7, 1960 (1960-05-07) Kutaisi, Republic of Georgia
Nationality	American
Education	Tbilisi State Academy of Fine Art, All-Union Academy - Moscow
Known for	sculpture, drawing
Movement	Abstract Figurative Sculpture

Batu Siharulidze (born in the Republic of Georgia, 7 May 1960) is an American artist, most widely known for his abstract figurative sculptures. He now lives in Boston, Massachusetts where he is an Associate Professor of Art at Boston University.^[1]

Biography

Isidore "Batu" Siharulidze was born on May 7, 1960 in Kutaisi, Republic of Georgia. Batu’s talent as a sculptor was recognized while he was in his early teens, and he was given entry into the Tbilisi College of Art at the age of fourteen. One of his early bronze sculptures, “Boy on a Horse”, is now in the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Soviet Nonconformist Art at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. Batu earned a graduate degree in sculpture from the Tbilisi State Academy of Fine Art and a post-graduate degree from the All-Union Academy in Moscow. After earning his post-graduate degree he taught at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts until he came to the U.S. in 1994, having been granted the status of an “Artist of Exceptional Talent”. Batu became a U.S. citizen in 2002. He has continued his career as an artist and educator, teaching sculpture and drawing in several U.S. universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, and Boston University.^[2]

Over the last decade Batu has exhibited and participated in the sculpture exhibits and symposiums in the U.S., Turkey, Italy, China, Spain, Great Britain, Austria, Netherlands, Russia, and Georgia. His works are held in museums, private collections, and in permanent outdoor displays in the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Turkey, India, China, and Georgia.

Batu lives with his wife and two children in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently he is an Associate Professor of Art, Chairman of the Sculpture Department and Head of the Graduate Sculpture Program at Boston University. He teaches various sculpting classes, as well as figure drawing classes. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Contemporary Art International, Inc.^[3]

Philosophy

A 7' white marble sculpture on permanent display at the International Peace Sculpture Garden, Trakia University. This sculpture is one of the earliest examples of Batu's 2-sided bas relief innovation.

Batu has stated that his art "seeks a universal quality." And although his work reflects the past in that he utilizes many traditional methods of sculpture, he states that his work "is not strictly traditional...I try to imbue my sculptures with a contemporary feeling. I believe each generation must renew the past, so that the present will have value for future generations."

His main artistic goal is "not to simply transcribe my experience of the world but to do so in fresh and compelling ways so that my art can be appreciated by all viewers"

Competitions

2015 Fifth International Bronze Sculpture Competition Vadodara, India

2014 China-Fuzhou International Sculpture Competition Fuzhou, China

2014 First International Sculpture Competition Tormino, Spain

2014 Seventh International Sculpture Competition, "Autumn Inspiration", Penza, Russia^[4]

2013 14th China Changchun (Nong'an) International Sculpture Competition, Changchun, China

2012 Sculpture Competition, Akhalkalaki Municipality Architectural Project Akhalkalaki, Georgia

2012 Fifth International Sculpture Competition, "Autumn Inspiration", Penza, Russia^[5]

2012 Twelfth Sculpture Competition, "Ancient Enigma", Andres Institute of Art, Brookline, New Hampshire, United States

2011 First International Granite Carving Competition, Acton, Massachusetts, USA^[6]

2010 First International Copper Sculpture Competition Tongling, Anhuik, China^[7]

2010 Second International Bronze Sculpture Competition Vadodara, India

2009 Fifth China (Hui'an) Carving Art Festival Hui'an, Jiangua, China^[8]

2008 Huseyin Gezer International Marble Carving Competition Mersin, Turkey

2008 IV International Termera (Asat) Stone Sculpture Competition Bodrum, Turkey

2006 International Stone Sculpture Competition Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

2003 International Stone Sculpture Competition Trakia University, Trakia (Border of Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria)

2002 International Stone Sculpture Competition Mersin, Turkey

1997 Pier Walk '97 Chicago, Illinois, USA

1991 Rustavi International Sculpture Competition Rustavi, Georgia

Museums

• Aegean Sea, Marble,

Murat Balkan Outdoor Sculpture Museum, Bodrum, Turkey

• Adam & Eve 2, Bronze,

Murat Kalkan Art Collection, Ankara, Turkey

• Adam & Eve in Repose, Plaster,

B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, Washington, DC, USA

• Communist Freedom, Painted Plaster,

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey

• Boy on Horse, Bronze,

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey

• Portrait of Norton Dodge, Bronze,

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey

• Dying Warrior, Marble & Bronze,

Modern Art Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia

• Tied Man, Life-Size Painted Plaster,

Fine Art Museum, Kutaisi, Georgia

Permanent Displays

• In The River, 8' x 9' x 3', Bronze

Uttaryan Foundation Sculpture Park, Vadodara, Gujarat, India

• Galicia, 5.7' x 5.7' x 2.62', Granite

Public Space, Tormino, Spain

• Day with Dragon, 7' x 9' x 2', Bronze

Sculpture Park, Penza, Russia

• Playing in the Rice Fields, 8' x 5' x 2', Bronze

Nong'an People's Park, Changchun, China

• Sunset, 6' x 8' x 3', Bronze

Sculpture Park, Penza, Russia

• Conscious, 4' x 6' x 3', Granite

Andres Institute Sculpture Park, Brookline, New Hampshire, USA

• Asleep, 7' x 4' x 3', Granite

Sculpture Garden, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

• Kneeling Girl, 6 ' x 4' x 2', Copper

Tongling Sculpture Park, Tonglin, Anhui, China

• Chinese Girl, 1 1/2' x 3' x 2', Wood

Jilin University, Changchun, China

• On the Horizon, 6' x 8' x 3', Bronze

Uttaryan Foundation Sculpture Park, Vadodara, Gujarat, India

• Adam & Eve, 8' x 4' 4', Bronze

Chanchun Sculpture Park, Shuagyang, Changcun, Jilnan, China

• Hui'an Girl, 5 1/2' x 8' x 3', Green Granite

Public Space, Hui'an, Jiangsu, China

• Tied Man, 6' x 7' x 3', White Marble

Public Space, Mercin, Turkey

• Human Mind, 5' x 6' x 3', White Marble,

Ankara University Sculpture Garden, Ankara, Turkey

• Aegean Sea, 6' x 7' x 3', White Marble

Aspat Outdoor Sculpture Museum, Bodrum, Turkey

• Trakia, 7' x 6' x 4', White Marble

Peace Garden, Border of Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece

• Table, 4' x 6' x 3', White Marble

Public Space, Mersin, Turkey

• Embrace, 8' x 4' x 4', Bronze

Stoneleigh, Fairfax, Virginia

• Tranquility, 7' z 4' x 5', Stone

Sculpture Garden, Rustavi, Georgia^[9]

References

1. ↑ Batu Siharulidze. Archived August 10, 2011, at WebCite Boston University. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
2. ↑ "BU College of Fine Arts". School of Visual Arts Batu Siharulidze. Boston University. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 
3. ↑ "Board of Directors". Contemporary Art International. Retrieved 23 February 2012. 
4. ↑ "International Sculpture Symposium". Retrieved 7 July 2012. 
5. ↑ "International Sculpture Symposium". Retrieved 7 July 2012. 
6. ↑ "New Art Archeology". Contemporary Arts International. Retrieved 23 February 2012. 
7. ↑ "China.org.cn". The first China (Tongling) Int'l Bronze Sculpture Exhibition. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 
8. ↑ "China Hui'an Sculpture Art Festival". 5th China Sculpture Art Festival. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 
9. ↑