Mikhail Gigolashvili
Biography
Mikhail Gigolashvili studied Russian Philology at Tbilisi University, and later in Leningrad, Russia, before obtaining his doctorate in 1984. In 1991 he published a study titled Dostoevsky Storytellers and a number of articles relating to foreign influences in Russian literature.
In 1991 he moved to Saarbriicken, Germany, where he teaches Russian at the University of the Saarland.
Gigolashvili is widely published in Russian and international periodicals. His latest novel The Ferris Wheel was shortlisted for the Big Book Prize in 2010 and was amongst the winning titiles of the Readers' Vote of the award.
Since the late eighties he has been making ‘object art’ from a wide range of natural and man-made materials: steel, glass, plastic, fabrics, shells, wood etc. His subjects range from landscapes and portraits on the one hand, to abstract patterns and futuristic 3D sculptures on the other. Working on a larger scale, he has decorated the sets for Faust and Hamlet at the Mimodramtheaters in Tbilisi. He has exhibited regularly, both in Georgia and the Saarland.
Books
Чертово колесо / The Ferris Wheel (2009)
Тайнопись / Cryptography (2007)
Толмач / The Interpreter (2003)
Иудея / Judea (1978)
Prizes and awards
2010 - Shortlisted for the Big Book Prize
2010 - Prize Winner of the Big Book Readers’ Vote