Irakli Ochiauri (Georgian: ირაკლი ოჩიაური, Russian: Иракли Очиаури; born November 20, 1924 in Tbilisi) is a prominent Georgian painter and sculptor[1] that holds the Shota Rustaveli State Prize, the highest prize awarded by Georgia in the fields of art and literature.[2]
In 1945 - 1951 he was studying at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts on the faculty of Sculpture with professor Silovan Kakabadze and then Iakob Nikoladze.
His dissertation was devoted to Vazha Pshavela. He participated in exhibitions from 1953. His first work, the portrait of Marine Kubaneishvili attracted attention when it was exhibited in Moscow and, thanks to this, Irakli Ochiauri became a member of the Union of Soviet Artists.
In the same 1953 Irakli Ochiauri exhibited his first embossing - Portrait of Iakob Nikoladze that is considered as the renascence of the new Georgian Art of coining .
During ten years, from 1952 to 1962, he had been working alone in restoration and foundation of new face of the field of chasing. At the same time Irakli Ochiauri did not forget about sculpture too. He participates in exhibitions and competitions.
He is the author of the sculpture of pearl divers in Pitsunda, bronze monuments of Alexandre Kazbegi in Kazbegi and Vazha Pshavela in Dusheti. In addition to coining and sculpture he works in the fields of graphic arts and painting.
He is a People's Artist of Georgia and a Professor of the Georgian Polytechnic University.
He has participated at World Exhibitions of Montreal, Canada and Osaka, Japan. He had personal exhibitions in Norway, Austria, West and East Germany, Syria, Belgium, Jordan, Japan.