Noy Nestorovich Gedenidze (1914 - 2002)
One of the most original artists of the Soviet era. The works of Noe Gedenidze are amazing pictorial symphonies, full of complex symbolism and referring with their color to the paintings of Mikhail Vrubel. Misunderstood and not accepted by their time, now they sound very modern.
Noi Nestorovich Gedenidze was born on July 14, 1914 in the village of Mitkhodzhi, Kutaisika region (Georgia). In 1931 he graduated from the construction technical school in Kutaisi. In 1940-1941 he studied at the Georgian Industrial Institute. Kirov in Tbilisi. In 1941 he volunteered for the Front, was a regimental artist and agitator. Since 1943 - the artist of the propaganda team at the main road administration of the Red Army. In 1972 he graduated from the four-year evening painting classes at the Moscow State Art Institute. V, I. Surikova. Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Lived and worked in Moscow. Together with A. Laktionov, Gedenidze painted portraits of party and government leaders. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 1977. Since 1945 he has been working as an artist in the MOOSKh system. In 1946-1956 he was a member of the Moscow Artists' Art Council.
However, the real artistic life of Gedenidze took place in a two-story workshop in a quiet Olkhovsky lane, where he painted for himself, as he wanted, not expecting to get into exhibitions. What came out from under his brush here are coloristic symphonies filled with complex symbolism, individual mythology.
In 1948-1952 he was a member of the artistic council for portraiture in the KHR of the city of Khimki. Participated in exhibitions: an exhibition of works by military artists (1945), an exhibition of works by Moscow artists (195З)‚ regional exhibitions of works by artists of the Moscow region (1955‚ 1961, 1963, 1965), regional exhibitions of works by artists - veterans of the Second World War (1965–1999), a zone exhibition " In a single formation "(1964)‚ zonal exhibition in Leningrad (1980), III zonal exhibition "Moscow Region" (1990), republican art exhibition of still life (1972), regional exhibitions of sketches (1973‚ 1975, 1978). Regional exhibitions "Our contemporary" (1974, 1978), regional anniversary exhibition "30 years of MOOSKh" (1977), regional exhibition of works of artists dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Victory in the BOB (1980), regional exhibition of works of artists dedicated to the 70th anniversary of formation USSR (1988), regional jubilee exhibition "50 years of Moscow Union of Artists" (1996), group exhibitions of works by Khimki artists (1947–1998). Personal exhibition of Noy Nesterovich took place in Khimki near Moscow in 1987.
In recent years, the works of Noah Gedenidze regularly appear at the auctions of major Western auction houses and reach high prices. So, at the "Russian auction" in Stockholm (Russian Auction of Stockholms Auktionsverk) October 2-3, 2008, his "Still life with gladioli" in 1967 (lot 189) and the landscape "By the lake" in 1981 (lot 188) were sold for 100 thousand Swedish crowns (approximately 350 thousand rubles) each. To date, the artist's price record has been the sale of the painting “Pereslavl-Zalessky. Church of Metropolitan Peter" in 1976 for 18 thousand euros at the charity auction StarBall ("Ball of Stars"), held on April 20, 2010 in the ballroom of the Moscow Ritz-Carlton hotel. In addition, at the end of November 2010, several works by Noah Gedenidze were sold at the Sotheby's auction house as part of the Russian Week in London.
The master's works are in many private collections in Russia and abroad.