Gvantsa Jishkariani, THEY BROUGHT BLUE BUTTERFLIES AND RELEASED THEM IN THE FIRE TO DANCE, 2022, Rose, Negro and Emperador Marble, red and Yellow Travertine, Onyx, lazurite mosaic on wood, 65 x 75 x 1 cm

Courtesy: Gvantsa Jishkariani and The Why Not Gallery

The Why Not Gallery is a Tbilisi-based contemporary art gallery, founded in 2018 by two friends, artist Gvantsa Jishkariani and curator Ellen Kapanadze. The gallery is dedicated at supporting and promoting young Georgian artists, discovering cutting edge creatives and assisting them in their most ambitious projects. It started out as a non-profit initiative – a vitrine gallery in the underground passageway at the Tbilisi city centre and since 2020 it operates as a commercial gallery.

The gallery has not lost its experimental edge and is dedicated to encouraging all sorts of experimentations and trials. The team is dedicated to presenting a body of work that is in touch with contemporary aesthetic, has a strong message to convey, muses on relevant discourses and is not afraid to challenge the traditional white cube exhibition-making approaches. The Why Not Gallery mainly represents Georgian female artists and is devoted to championing marginalised and outlier positions. Throughout its 3-year long existence, the gallery has hosted 22 successful exhibitions and is now on its mission to introduce young Georgian artists internationally.