Master

Zaza Gatenashvili was born in Akhalgori. Following the August 2008 war, he was forced to leave his home and, as an internally displaced person, settled in the Tserovani IDP settlement. Despite the hardships, he continued his professional work and established the workshop-museum "Georgian Ornament", which has become an important center for the preservation of traditional woodcraft, the promotion of Georgian ornamental art, and vocational education.

Zaza Gatenashvili is a master of artistic woodcraft with more than thirty years of professional experience. He began working with wood at the age of twelve, learning the craft from his father, who devoted his life to wood carving and the study of traditional Georgian ornaments. The knowledge and passion he inherited from his father shaped his artistic path and continue to inspire his work today. Zaza often says that his father remains the first person to evaluate his creations and that he still learns from him.

To deepen his professional knowledge, he continued his studies at the Academy of Arts. After graduating, he taught children with disabilities at one of the schools in Tbilisi for several years. He remembers this period with great warmth, believing that teaching was a mutual learning experience. While sharing his knowledge with his students, he also gained valuable insights and inspiration from them.

After the August War, despite being forced to leave his home, Zaza never abandoned his profession. In Tserovani, he established a workshop-museum where he continues to create wooden artworks and teach the craft to people of different ages. Over the years, nearly 50 craftsmen have received training in woodcraft under his guidance, making education one of the most significant aspects of his professional legacy.

The name of his workshop, "Georgian Ornament," reflects the artistic values at the heart of his work. Most of Zaza's creations are inspired by traditional Georgian ornaments and decorative motifs that have been an integral part of the country's cultural heritage for centuries. By incorporating these historic patterns into contemporary wooden objects, he preserves traditional craftsmanship while giving it a modern artistic expression.

His collection includes handcrafted traditional furniture, decorative wooden boxes, household and kitchen items, souvenirs, interior decorative pieces, and a wide range of applied art objects. Every piece is handmade and distinguished by its craftsmanship, careful attention to detail, respect for natural materials, and creative interpretation of traditional Georgian ornamental designs.

For Zaza Gatenashvili, woodworking is far more than a profession it is a way of preserving the knowledge inherited from previous generations and passing it on to the future. His greatest ambition is to inspire young people to appreciate traditional craftsmanship, share his experience with aspiring artisans, and ensure that the centuries-old tradition of Georgian artistic woodworking continues to thrive.