🖼️ Varla Gallery in Kutaisi: the legacy of an émigré artist
📋 What You Should Know Before Your Visit
| 📍 Address | 2–2A Newport Street, Kutaisi |
| 🕐 Opening Hours | Monday and Friday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, closed on all other days |
| 🎫 Admission | Free |
| 🎨 Named After | Felix Varlamishvili (Varla, 1903–1986), an émigré artist |
| 🖼️ What You'll Find Inside | Paintings, graphic art, sculpture, and multimedia works by contemporary Georgian artists |
🧭 What This Article Covers
Kutaisi is home to Varla Gallery, named after the émigré artist Felix Varlamishvili and dedicated to showcasing contemporary Georgian artists. This article is for anyone who wants to learn what makes this gallery special, who Varla was, and whether it's worth adjusting their itinerary to match its unusual opening schedule.
📖 Gallery Highlights
Varla is a working art gallery in Kutaisi, not a memorial museum: it doesn't display the personal belongings of a single artist under glass, but rather displays and sells works by contemporary Georgian artists. The gallery is named after Felix Varlamishvili, a Kutaisi artist who spent most of his life in exile in France. Exhibitions change, so the same visit can be different for different people—one day it might feature classical paintings, the next, a multimedia project.
🎨 Who is Varla
Felix Varlamishvili, known as Varla , was born in 1903 in Kutaisi, into the family of a financier.
He studied at the Tiflis Academy of Arts, where his mentors included renowned Georgian masters Iakob Nikoladze and Gigo Gabashvili.
In 1928 (or 1929, according to other sources), Varlamishvili left the USSR and settled in Paris, in Montparnasse, where he lived and worked for most of his life, creating works imbued with Georgian motifs. Researchers compare him to Marc Chagall, who similarly never parted with images of his native Vitebsk while living in France.
The artist died in Paris in 1986. According to his will, his ashes were buried in the Georgian cemetery in Leuville, a French necropolis where many first-wave Georgian emigrants found their final resting place.
💡 Editor's Tip
Before your visit, check the gallery's Facebook page. Exhibition schedules change regularly, and according to visitors, some of the artworks shown in online photos may no longer be on display by the time you arrive. Since the gallery is open only two days a week, it's worth confirming the current exhibition in advance rather than planning your trip on assumptions.
🖌️ What can you see inside
Varla's exhibitions span several formats: oil and acrylic painting, graphics and illustration, sculpture and installations, art photography, and multimedia projects.
The works can not only be viewed, but also purchased - this is a working sales gallery, not a closed exhibition hall.
Lectures and creative meetings are held here periodically.
👀 Visitor reviews
Reviews are few, but they all say the same thing: the atmosphere in the gallery is calm and inspiring , the lighting and selection of exhibits make an impression even on repeat visits.
Several visitors also noted that some of the works they expected to see from online photographs had already been removed by the time of their visit - another reason to check the current poster before your trip, rather than relying on old photos.
🚶 Take a stroll around the neighborhood
💬 Tell Us About Your Visit
Have you visited Varla Gallery? Share in the comments which exhibition impressed you the most. Were you able to plan your visit around its unusual opening schedule, or did you have to adjust your itinerary? We'd also love to know whether the artworks you saw online were still on display or if the exhibition had already changed.
🌅 In conclusion
Varla is a rare example of a gallery named after a specific person, but living in the present: here, they do not preserve the past , but continue to give a voice to contemporary Georgian artists, just as they once gave a voice to him.
🧡 Continue Exploring Kutaisi
- 📜 Kutaisi Museums: A Guide to Museum Collections and House Museums
- 🎨 Galleries and Exhibitions in Kutaisi: A Guide to the City's Art Spaces
- 🗿 Monuments of Kutaisi: A Guide to the City's Sculptures and Memorials
💾 Save this article so you can come back to it before your trip to Kutaisi.
❓ Frequently asked questions about Varla Gallery
💬 In honor of Felix Varlamishvili (1903–1986), a Kutaisi artist who lived most of his life in exile in Paris.
💬 The gallery is open only two days a week—Mondays and Fridays, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Closed on all other days.
💬 Free admission.
💬 Yes, this is a functioning sales gallery: the works on display are available for purchase.
💬 The gallery has a small shop where you can buy reproductions of paintings and other souvenirs.
💬 No, but there are cozy coffee shops nearby where you can continue the conversation about art.
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