Zurab Tsereteli

CHARLES DE GAULLE WROTE IN HIS "WAR MEMOIRS": "WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE THROUGH THE WORLD'S MOST REMARKABLE PLACES, I FEEL THAT THE GLORY OF THE PAST... RECONNECTS TO THAT OF THE PRESENT... IT FEELS LIKE HISTORY IS SMILING BACK AT US TODAY THROUGH ITS STONES AND CITY SQUARES." FOR 2,000 YEARS THE CITY OF PARIS HAS UNDERGONE A CONTINUOUS EVOLUTION FROM ROMAN SETTLEMENT TO MODERN WORLD CAPITAL, AND THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY THE CITY HAS REMAINED LOYAL TO ITS PRINCIPLES. REJECTING LACK OF TALENT AT EVERY STAGE, IT ACCUMULATES THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND EXCITING NEW FEATURES, GIVING PREFERENCE TO PERFECT ORDER AND BRILLIANCE. THE NEW MONUMENT BY ZURAB TSERETELI NEAR NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL IN PARIS IS FURTHER PROOF OF SUCH A TRADITION THAT HAS TURNED THE CITY INTO THE ARTISTIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. WHAT IS PARTICULARLY STRIKING IS THE PERFECT WAY THE NEW SCULPTURE FITS WITHIN THE FAMOUS ARCHITECTURAL ENSEMBLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.

ZURAB TSERETELI'S CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD ART IS ENORMOUS. THE SCOPE OF HIS ARTISTIC PURSUITS IS ALL-ENCOMPASSING AND MANIFESTS ITSELF IN MONUMENTAL AND EASEL WORKS, DESIGN AND APPLIED ART. TO SAY "HE EXISTS IN ART" WOULD BE WRONG - ART LIVES THROUGH HIM, HIS SOUL, HIS THOUGHTS AND HIS LIFE. THE POET ILYA REZNIK GAVE AN ACCURATE, VIVID AND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE MAESTRO'S CAREER IN ART, WHICH IS MARKED BY HIS FORMIDABLE TALENT AND INFINITE INDUSTRIOUSNESS: "IT WAS NOT THAT THE ARTIST CHOSE PAINTING - PAINTING CHOSE HIM." THIS POETIC EXPRESSION DESCRIBES AN ARTIST OF GREAT AND WIDE-RANGING GIFTS, TO WHOM, TO QUOTE ANOTHER POET, VALERY BRYUSOV, "ONLY WORK BRINGS HAPPINESS... LONG HOURS OF HARD WORK".