thea djordjadze

Combining traditional materials of sculpture such as plaster and wood with everyday objects like foam and linoleum, Thea Djordjadze (born 1971, Tbilisi, Georgia) creates installations of sculptural objects that are sited to respond to one another and the space of their installation. Her work is characterized by tensions between materials and forms. Geometric constructions drawn from modernist architecture and design are exhibited together with clay sculptures and carpets that reveal their status as handmade. Her use of linoleum—an inexpensive floor covering widely used for kitchen floors in the early 20th century—further brings a sense of domesticity to the museum. Djordjadze’s work often gestures towards exhibition furniture, including plinths and vitrines, while simultaneously upending the conventions of museum display, such as when a foam slab approximating the dimensions of a mattress is displayed on its side supported by a thin steel structure.