Dante
Calle Libre 2024
Live Painting 02.09-06.09
Address: Perspektivstraße 5, 1020 Vienna
Instagram: @dante.mdante
Born in 1987, Dante started to paint at an early age. His original source of inspiration was fauna. Drawing animals off of book illustrations at first, he soon became a frequent guest of Tbilisi Zoo, where he could be seen sitting and making sketches for hours. His art continued to develop over the years and great artists played a significant role in that. Dante’s work on fine art painting reproductions significantly influenced development of his technique and taste, and has helped him to find his personal style.
In 2004, he enrolled in Tbilisi Academy of Arts, working towards a degree in interior design. Academy years were very fruitful as he continued to paint and sculpt on top of studying. Upon graduating from the Academy with honors his first job was as a theatre scenographer. Later in 2008 Dante was invited to France to take part in restoration works on historical monuments. This experience had a significant influence on his growth as an artist. During the same period he visited different European cities, studying European culture, monuments and pieces of art. Upon his return to Georgia he got engaged in a diverse range of projects. He actively started to work on murals, worked on graphic design and got involved in architectural projects.
As for the wall for Calle Libre 2024, it is the first mural in the series of five which has been in the planning for some time now. Dante says: “It is the right time to kick it off with everything that is going on in the world.”
The series is inspired by Pink Floyd’s 1977 album “Animals”, which in turn was loosely based on George Orwell’s political fable “Animal Farm” that describes various social classes as different kinds of animals.