The art of Zurab Tsereteli (Зураба Церетели) is difficult to attribute to any particular art direction, either nationally or globally. He is one of those artists who practice his own “religion” and involves others in it. Tsereteli’s art has already become a classic, not reducible to one style, but expressing in its own original uniqueness.

Biography

Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli was born in 1934 in Tbilisi, and graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, although he soon moved to Moscow.

Outstanding Sculptures

• The statue of Peter I of Russia in the centre of Moscow, at 94 metres high, is the sixth tallest statue in the world.
• The statue The Egg of Columbus, representing Christopher Columbus. Built in the town of Mayagüez for the XXI Central American and Caribbean Games. Russia gave a copy of this statue to Spain, which was installed in the park of San Jeronimo, Seville.
• The statue of St. George on the World War II memorial in Poklonnaya Gora and several versions on the same theme in Moscow and other cities. Equally important among these is a sculpture made from portions of an American MGM-31 Pershing missile and another Soviet SS-20 nuclear missile. The sculpture, entitled “Good Defeats Evil”, is located in the United Nations building in New York. The sculpture, almost 12 meters high and 40 tons of bronze, is a monumental statue of St. George fighting the dragon, which in this case refers to nuclear war. It was donated to the United Nations by the Soviet Union in 1990.
• The treble clef that crowns the dome of the Moscow International Centre for the Performing Arts. It is 9.5 meters high, weighs 2 tons and is covered with a golden mosaic. The sculpture rotates like a weather vane.
• His work “To the fight against terrorism in the world” shows a 12-meter tear suspended in a crack in a 32-meter high rectangular bronze tower. The monument includes the names of all the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania; as well as those of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Vladimir Putin presented and called the monument “a gift from the people of Russia. It was erected near the former oceanic military terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey, now called The Peninsula, a residential, commercial and entertainment area. It was inaugurated on 11 September 2006 in the presence of former United States President Bill Clinton.
• The sculpture “The Birth of the New World” (126 meters high), dedicated to Christopher Columbus, installed in the city of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Dedicated to the 500 years of the discovery of the New World.

Ranks and Membership

1997: President of the Russian Academy of Arts.
1999: Director of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.
2000: Director of the Tsereteli Art Gallery
1992: President of the Moscow International Foundation for UNESCO
1991: Diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation.
1996: UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
1989: Full member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
1992: Full member, Vice-President of the Academy of Creativity (science, culture, social activities), Russia.
1996: Full member of the Academy of Sciences, Georgia.
1997: Active member of the Elite World Academy.
1998: Full member and Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Informatics.
1998: Full member of the Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic.
1998: Corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, Spain.
2002: Foreign Corresponding Member of the Academy of Fine Arts of France.
1979: Professor, Brockport University of Fine Arts, New York, USA.
1981: Professor, Academy of Arts of Tbilisi, Georgia.
1998: Professor with certification in Russia.

Awards and Decorations

1978: Popular artist of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia.
1979 – People’s Artist of the USSR
1993 – People’s Artist of Russia
1976 – Winner of the Lenin Prize
1978, 1983: Two-time winner of the State Prize of the USSR.
1994 – Laureate of the Picasso Prize
1996: Laureate of the Russian State Prize
2000: Laureate of the Contemporary Art Prize 2000 “International Recognition” – “The Golden Arm, France.
1991: Golden Star “Hero of Socialist Work”.
1994: Knight of the Order of Friendship of Peoples.
1996: “For services to the country”, 3rd degree.
1998: Vermej Medal – the highest award of the city of Paris – and the “Great Bronze Medal of the City of Paris” for his outstanding contribution to culture and art and the rapprochement of the peoples of Russia and Georgia with France.
2000: Knight of the Honorary Cross “Combat Volunteer” Association of Veterans of the French Resistance
2002: Order of Gabriela Mistral, Chile
2004: The distinction of the city of Moscow.
2005: Order of Arts and Literature, Officer, France.
2006: “For services to the fatherland” 2nd grade, RF.
2007: Picasso Gold Medal, UNESCO.
2010: Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor, France.
2010: “For services to the country”, grade I.
2011: International prize named after Giuseppe Sciacca.
2014: “For Services to the Fatherland”, grade IV.
2015: International Cooperation Advisor of the National Museum of Fine Arts of China.
2015: Honorary Civil Order – Silver Star “70 years of the great victory”.
2016: The Order “Honor and Glory of the Great Russia” of the Foundation “The Power of the Fatherland”.

Public Awards

2003: Laureate of the Order “Glory of Russia”.
2003: Gold diploma and medal “for work and country”.
2003: International Peace Prize of the United Convention of Cultural Figures, USA.
2003: Launching of the All-Russia Rider “Russia National Olympus” – the title of “Super Star” – with the award of the Order “For honor and courage” award “Radiant Star” and a diploma.
2003: Laureate of the Order “Patrons” of the Charity Fund “Patrons of the century”.
2014: UNESCO Medal “Five Continents”.
2015: European Chamber of Science and Industry Award “For a great contribution to art”.
2015: “Honorary Cross of Culture and Art” for contribution to the world of fine arts and humanization of humanity “Albert Schweitzer Society”.

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1970-1980: Main artist of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.
1980: Main artist of the Moscow Olympic Games.
1995: Artistic director of the construction of the memorial complex on Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow.
1997: Principal artist of the shopping and recreation center in Manezhnaya Square, Moscow.
1995-2000: Artistic director of interior and exterior works in the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow.