Petre Otskheli

Petre Otskheli (Lang-ka|პეტრე ოცხელი) (November 25 1907 – December 2 1937) was a Georgian modernist set and costume designer who designed in theatre in Georgia and briefly in Moscow. He was put to death during Stalin’s Great Purge at the age of 30, but his scenographic constructivism has had a lasting influence on the Georgian scenic design.

Born in Kutaisi, Otskheli studied at the Kutaisi realschule and the Tbilisi Academy of Fine Arts in the 1920s. Through most of his career Otskheli had a creative relationship with the director Kote Marjanishvili who invited the young artist to his theatre in Kutaisi in 1928. Otskheli’s visual experiments and skillful use of stage for massive designs with a series of subtle elements earned him recognition, but he soon came under pressure from Stalin’s lieutenant in the Caucasus, Lavrentiy Beria. In 1936, Otskheli fled Beria’s persecution to Moscow where he was recruited by his fellow countryman Sergo Amaghlobeli, then the director of Moscow Maly Theatre. In 1937, both Otskheli and Amaghlobeli were arrested and shot on trumped-up charges of treason.Wells (2002), "Shakespeare Survey: Volume 48, Shakespeare and Cultural Exchange", p. 189. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-52387-7] [Rubin, Don "et al" (1994), "The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre", p. 335. Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0415059283.]

References

Further reading

*Lomtatidze, Lily (1973), " [http://www.moesbooks.com/cgi-bin/moe/41124.html Petre Otskheli] ". Tbilisi.

External links

*Tsimintia, Ana (2007-12-14) [http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=4082 Fragments of Georgian Modernism: Theatre Designs of Petre Otskheli on Display at Karvasla] . "Georgia Today". Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
* [http://art.dlf.ge/node/515 Petre Otskheli’s designs] . "Art.dfl.ge". Retrieved on 2008-06-13.