Joti Bzhalava arrived in Biarritz in 1991 for an art symposium and has been living and working in South France since then. French artists call the Georgian sculptor the “Mozart of sculpture.” Joti was six years old, a shepherd boy, when he started carving animals and mythological figures out of stone. He received education at Tbilisi State Art Academy, department of Sculpture. Since 1970, he has been participating in international exhibitions and symposia in different countries all around the globe. He often chooses motifs of Georgian history and culture in his work. The source of inspiration is the legends and myths of the people of the Caucasus. Granite, marble, and silex are the favorite materials of the artist. “The original state of the stone is often preserved in my works because it emphasizes its naturalness, density, and volume; I work with it directly with my hands,” says the sculptor. Apart from Georgia, the people and animals carved from stone by Joti Bzhalava are displayed in different cities of France. An outstanding work of his creation is a four-meter bull, which was placed in the central square of Nimes in France in 2018; Also St. George’s monument in the courtyard of the Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi and a series of works in the Dariali valley. Joti Bzhalava lives with his family in South France, in the Aude department.
