Batu Siharulidze

Biography

Isidore "Batu" Siharulidze was born on May 7, 1960 in Kutaisi, Republic of Georgia. Batu’s talent as a sculptor was recognized while he was in his early teens, and he was given entry into the Tbilisi College of Art at the age of fourteen. One of his early bronze sculptures, “Boy on a Horse”, is now in the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Soviet Nonconformist Art at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. Batu earned a graduate degree in sculpture from the Tbilisi State Academy of Fine Art and a post-graduate degree from the All-Union Academy in Moscow. After earning his post-graduate degree he taught at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts until he came to the U.S. in 1994, having been granted the status of an “Artist of Exceptional Talent”. Batu became a U.S. citizen in 2002. He has continued his career as an artist and educator, teaching sculpture and drawing in several U.S. universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, and Boston University.

Over the last decade Batu has exhibited and participated in the sculpture exhibits and symposiums in the U.S., Turkey, Italy, China, Spain, Great Britain, Austria, Netherlands, Russia, and Georgia. His works are held in museums, private collections, and in permanent outdoor displays in the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Turkey, India, China, and Georgia.

Batu lives with his wife and two children in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently he is an Associate Professor of Art, Chairman of the Sculpture Department and Head of the Graduate Sculpture Program at Boston University. He teaches various sculpting classes, as well as figure drawing classes. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Contemporary Art International, Inc.

Philosophy

Batu has stated that his art "seeks a universal quality." And although his work reflects the past in that he utilizes many traditional methods of sculpture, he states that his work "is not strictly traditional...I try to imbue my sculptures with a contemporary feeling. I believe each generation must renew the past, so that the present will have value for future generations."

His main artistic goal is "not to simply transcribe my experience of the world but to do so in fresh and compelling ways so that my art can be appreciated by all viewers"

Competitions

2015 Fifth International Bronze Sculpture Competition Vadodara, India

2014 China-Fuzhou International Sculpture Competition Fuzhou, China

2014 First International Sculpture Competition Tormino, Spain

2014 Seventh International Sculpture Competition, "Autumn Inspiration", Penza, Russia

2013 14th China Changchun (Nong'an) International Sculpture Competition, Changchun, China

2012 Sculpture Competition, Akhalkalaki Municipality Architectural Project Akhalkalaki, Georgia

2012 Fifth International Sculpture Competition, "Autumn Inspiration", Penza, Russia

2012 Twelfth Sculpture Competition, "Ancient Enigma", Andres Institute of Art, Brookline, New Hampshire, United States

2011 First International Granite Carving Competition, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

2010 First International Copper Sculpture Competition Tongling, Anhuik, China

2010 Second International Bronze Sculpture Competition Vadodara, India

2009 Fifth China (Hui'an) Carving Art Festival Hui'an, Jiangua, China

2008 Huseyin Gezer International Marble Carving Competition Mersin, Turkey

2008 IV International Termera (Asat) Stone Sculpture Competition Bodrum, Turkey

2006 International Stone Sculpture Competition Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

2003 International Stone Sculpture Competition Trakia University, Trakia (Border of Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria)

2002 International Stone Sculpture Competition Mersin, Turkey

1997 Pier Walk '97 Chicago, Illinois, USA

1991 Rustavi International Sculpture Competition Rustavi, Georgia

Museums

Aegean Sea, Marble,

Murat Balkan Outdoor Sculpture Museum, Bodrum, Turkey

Adam & Eve 2, Bronze,

Murat Kalkan Art Collection, Ankara, Turkey

Adam & Eve in Repose, Plaster,

B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, Washington, DC, USA

Communist Freedom, Painted Plaster,

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey

Boy on Horse, Bronze,

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey

Portrait of Norton Dodge, Bronze,

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey

Dying Warrior, Marble & Bronze,

Modern Art Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia

Tied Man, Life-Size Painted Plaster,

Fine Art Museum, Kutaisi, Georgia

Permanent Displays

In The River, 8' x 9' x 3', Bronze

Uttaryan Foundation Sculpture Park, Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Galicia, 5.7' x 5.7' x 2.62', Granite

Public Space, Tormino, Spain

Day with Dragon, 7' x 9' x 2', Bronze

Sculpture Park, Penza, Russia

Playing in the Rice Fields, 8' x 5' x 2', Bronze

Nong'an People's Park, Changchun, China

Sunset, 6' x 8' x 3', Bronze

Sculpture Park, Penza, Russia

Conscious, 4' x 6' x 3', Granite

Andres Institute Sculpture Park, Brookline, New Hampshire, USA

Asleep, 7' x 4' x 3', Granite

Sculpture Garden, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

Kneeling Girl, 6 ' x 4' x 2', Copper

Tongling Sculpture Park, Tonglin, Anhui, China

Chinese Girl, 1 1/2' x 3' x 2', Wood

Jilin University, Changchun, China

On the Horizon, 6' x 8' x 3', Bronze

Uttaryan Foundation Sculpture Park, Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Adam & Eve, 8' x 4' 4', Bronze

Chanchun Sculpture Park, Shuagyang, Changcun, Jilnan, China

Hui'an Girl, 5 1/2' x 8' x 3', Green Granite

Public Space, Hui'an, Jiangsu, China

Tied Man, 6' x 7' x 3', White Marble

Public Space, Mercin, Turkey

Human Mind, 5' x 6' x 3', White Marble,

Ankara University Sculpture Garden, Ankara, Turkey

Aegean Sea, 6' x 7' x 3', White Marble

Aspat Outdoor Sculpture Museum, Bodrum, Turkey

Trakia, 7' x 6' x 4', White Marble

Peace Garden, Border of Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece

Table, 4' x 6' x 3', White Marble

Public Space, Mersin, Turkey

Embrace, 8' x 4' x 4', Bronze

Stoneleigh, Fairfax, Virginia

Tranquility, 7' z 4' x 5', Stone

Sculpture Garden, Rustavi, Georgia