​George Bezani is a New York City-based multidisciplinary artist whose painting practice explores the fragility of contemporary life and the socio-cultural impacts of techno-authoritarianism. Through a narrative approach, his work addresses the fragmentation of human experience across online and offline communities, foregrounds the mechanisms of cognitive colonization within a polarized digital era, and articulates states of corporeal estrangement alongside emergent modalities of communication.
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Bezani earned his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and has received notable accolades, such as the Fondazione Claudio Buziol Prize (Venice, 2008), the Swiss Textile Prize (Zurich, 2009), and the Outstanding Artist award from the Austrian Ministry of Culture (bm:ukk, Vienna, 2011). In addition to his visual art practice, Bezani spent a successful decade in the fashion industry, working as a designer for his own brand as well as for companies such as 3.1 Phillip Lim and The Row.
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Bezani's work has been presented at institutions such as the MAK Museum (Vienna), the Arnhem Biennale, the Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao), and CICA Museum (South Korea). His ​work has been featured in The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar Japan, Wallpaper magazine, Der Standard, Die Presse and Artforum, among others.
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​Education
2011 MFA, Institute of Design: Fashion | Veronique Branquinho / Bernhard Willhelm, University of Applied Arts, Vienna, AT
2004 BA, Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Georgian Technical University, Tbilisi, GE
Selected Exhibitions
2026 Future Tense, January 25 - April 22, curated by Leonard Iheagwam (Soldier), myma, New York, NY
2026 Postcards from the Edge, January 24 - January 26, Berry Campbell Gallery, New York, NY
2025 Cultureedit Art Auction, April 10 - April 26, curated by Joakim Andreasson, Los Angeles, CA
2024 Send Me Nudes!, November 9 - November 23, curated by Naruki Kukita, nAd Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2024 The Red Show, October 4 - October 20, Galerie Shibumi, New York, NY
2024 Uncharted Waters: Technological Imprints, July 17 - July 31, curated by Yige Bai and Yifan Liu, A Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2024 Memory of the Existing and the Imaginary, August 27 - September 13, Contemporary Art Chronicle, San Francisco, CA
2024 Change, July 24 - August 10, Usagi NY Space, Brooklyn, NY
2024 Just Imagine by Liquitex, May 9 - May 19, 99 Scott, Brooklyn, NY
2024 Objects Without (Home), April 17 - April 28, curated by Annie Ziyao and Bebe Uddin, :iidrr Gallery, New York, NY
2023​ MVA Open Studios - Liquitex AIR Residents, October 21 - October 22, East Orange, NJ
2023 Gagosian Gallery Staff Exhibition, July 31 - August 21, Gagosian 541 West 24th Street, New York City, NY
2023 Breath, June 21 - July 29, CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, KOR
2022 Speaklow, December 4 - December 5, Brooklyn, NY
2020 Show Off, February 14 - August 30, MAK Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, AT
2018 Mode als Statement, June 16 - September 8, curated by Barbara Putz-Plecko, Galeriefreihausgasse, Villach, AT
2016 NJAL at Waldorf Astoria Hotel, December 4 - December 13, curated by Stefan Siegel, New York, NY
2011​ Outstanding11 (bm:ukk), June 14, RadioKulturhaus, Vienna, AT
2011 Arnhem Biennale, June 1 - July 3, curated by Carlo Wijnands, Arnhem, NL
2010 Bilbao International Art & Fashion Competition, February 13 - September 12, Guggenheim Bilbao, ESP
Residencies
2025 Mark Rothko Museum Residency Program, October 15 - November 1, Daugavpils, LV
2022 Liquitex Residency Program, November 14 - January 24, East Orange, NJ
2010 Master Class in Master Crafts by Camper, July 16 - July 25, Mallorca, ESP
Awards
2023 Art Vue Foundation Award, Brussels, BE
2022 Liquitex Award, New York, USA
2011 Outstanding Artist Award supported by the Austrian Ministry of Culture (bm:ukk), Vienna, AT
2011 Der Standard - Rondo Vöslauer Award, Vienna, AT
2010 Startstipendium - the Austrian Ministry of Culture (bm:ukk), Vienna, AT
2009 PENG! Editorial Award, Vienna, AT
2009 Swiss Textiles Sponsorship Prize, Zurich, CH
2009 SONG Concept Store Prize, Vienna, AT
2008 Fondazione Claudio Buziol Prize, Venice, IT
Publications
2017 Fashion - Aus der Kostüm- und Modesammlung by Elisabeth Frottier, Birkhäuser Verlag, AT
2012 Menswear: Fashion Forward Designers by Louis Bou, Instituto Monsa de Ediciones, ES
2012 Fashion 2 by Friederike Krump, alt/cramer publishers, Berlin, DE
2011 The Poetry of Fashion Design by Paz Diman, Rockport publishers, USA
2010 Master Class in Master Crafts by Camper, Nova Era Barcelona, ESP
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Collections
2025 Mark Rothko Museum, Daugavpils, LV
2008 Collection and Archive of University of Applied Arts, Vienna, AT
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Press
The New York Times, Style.com Magazine, Citizen K, Fashionisto, Amarta, Peng! Magazine, Vogue Ukraine, Wallpaper*, Der Standard - Rondo, Curatory Magazine, Diva, GQ Russia, Cosmopolitan, Boulevard Magazine, Die Presse, Harper's Bazaar KZ, Suboart Magazine, uMag, Falter, Dash Magazine, FLUX, Missy Magazine, Harper's Bazaar Japan, XII Magazine, FAQ Magazine, Vogue Japan, Artforum.
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Interview with Curatory Magazine
May, 2025
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CRTRY: “_TenShen_” explores big pressures—tech, war, climate. What pushed you to turn all that into painting?
GB: It’s the reality we live in. We’re a biased, informatively fragmented society, where people exist in separate bubbles. For some, these facts are abstract—dismissed as conspiracy theories. As an artist, observation has been the key to guide my life. I constantly study my surroundings on both micro and macro levels, it’s something I’ve done since an early age. It felt organic to connect these pressing topics with my painting practice and to research them through the lens of my mark-making process. In his famous play Berthold Brecht says, “The war is over, be afraid of the peace!”—a sentiment that deeply resonates with me. We seem to be incapable to exist in peace. Apart from the horrors of the real wars, what we are additionally experiencing now is a new kind of war - abstract, shape shifting, all-consuming. Leading us into a highly ungovernable chaos.
CRTRY: You use imagery from CT scans and surveillance. What do these sources give you visually?
GB: To me as a painter, these are incredibly useful materials. I conduct ongoing studies of human conditions, often depicting figures in a state of escapism - nowhere, yet everywhere, interacting across various domains, absorbing massive amounts of information without retaining any of it. Surveillance has become an essential part of who we are. Every movement, every interaction, every transaction is recorded. We are surrounded by CCTV cams from major capitals and buildings, to smaller towns and venues where you endlessly observe the movements of humans who seem to be going nowhere. I try to project this sense of constant supervision in my paintings. We all live in our own Truman Show(s), but who is watching? And more importantly, why are they watching? I pay attention to every detail. It’s a state of immense concentration, a sophisticated pattern of hyperconsciousness to follow during the long hours of painting.
CRTRY: How does your fashion background sneak into your painting process now?
GB: It’s been a while since I’ve worked in fashion. I was mostly involved within the creative framework of the industry. I was never drawn to trends or the ideas of developing marketable products. My research was complex, focused on questions around the “second skin” we wear, including accessories. I’m proud that my collections still feel relevant. They spark ongoing conversations around gender, identity, religion, and the history of dressing. I began working in fashion very young. It gave me great joy, shaped my evolution and largely impacted me, becoming the artist I am today. It allowed me to grow creatively and essentially transition to painting, which I admit, is a medium that fascinates and constantly challenges me, with its infinite possibilities, unlike fashion which does have its limits by becoming repetitive. However, some things never change. The narrative approach I once applied to collections is the same I now apply to paintings. Scrapbooks, literature, film and endless curiosity as the ultimate engine, leading me to unexpected, enticing places. But other than that, the fashion chapter of my creative life is closed, for now.
CRTRY: Your works feel fragmented and tense. How do you decide when to stop?
GB: It’s an individual experience. I’m not sure I would call the work fragmented. For me, it’s a tightly connected network of images and events, composed through concentrated brushstrokes. I’ve spent years developing a distinctive and original visual language through mark-making. I believe these works carry futuristic messages about human existence and will continue to evoke multiple interpretations. They depict iconographic moments from the current psychological war on humans, a war in which we comply willingly, like excited volunteers, practically demanding to be harmed, without realizing the cost. It’s a self-destructive process, filled with techno-perversity and addiction, where the enemy holds a perfectly engineered weapon. If the past were defined by colonization of territories, we are now living through the colonization of a human mind. It’s a totally different ball game, happening on a global level, therefore it’s very intense. I usually stop when my body tells me to take a break. Despite all the advances, there’s only so much you can do with the biology of an organic human being. Even the greatest minds and bodies need to repose and aliment in order to regenerate. However, the terrifying twist of these transformers is that they don’t need to stop, therefore they accelerate our levels of reactions & actions to extreme, unknown levels. I profoundly believe that in life at large, either personal or professional - it is paramount to know when to stop, no matter what.
CRTRY: Escapism shows up often. What does that look like for you personally?
GB: Escapism is organic. Humans cannot continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality, which is why we invented fiction. We are the only species who masterfully stage lies, to tell each other stories which might or might not exist. To quote the great Pedro Almodóvar, reality needs to be completed with fiction to make it tolerable. This explains escapism, especially in the hyper-normalized societies which lead double-triple lives. It’s not a coincidence that the official Soviet newspaper with the highest circulation of over 15 million daily copies was called “Pravda” meaning “Truth” in a country where everything you experienced was hardly ever true and “truth” always had several versions, very much like Kurosawa’s “Rashomon”, very much like today. However, what we are additionally experiencing now are digital earthquakes, causing escapism tsunamis. You don’t have to wait for a certain timeslot one day a week to watch your favorite show, you can binge it on various devices, over and over continuously, like a broken record. Japanese cosplay is a great example of collective escapism - people dress and act like anime or manga characters on daily basis, actively trying to blur the lines between actuality and fantasy. It’s more visible in large cities, in New York for instance, where I live - it’s strongly present, widespread rejection of reality - people refuse to confront what is directly in front of them, both literally and symbolically. They retreat into a filtered, avatar-like existence, experiencing the world through screens of often, artificial, staged “lives” of others. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with kids of various ages in NYC public schools. It’s startling to observe their tech addiction, and even more alarming is how underdeveloped their cognitive thinking skills are. Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you choose not to see what's going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. We are already seeing the consequences manifest themselves in our fragile, easily manipulable societies. I personally enjoy the escapism for a short period of time, for the sake of entertainment or change of scenery, but I think that the act of being present in your life as yourself to find, develop, polish and become a better version of yourself, is a crucial act of existence/resistance - especially for an artist who, according to Tarkovsky should be serving as a conscience mirror of society. Keeping your eyes open takes courage - but we don’t have the luxury to stop trying.
CRTRY: What kind of space or setting do you picture these paintings in?
GB: That’s a great question—thank you for asking. I often think about the scale of these works and where they could be presented so that it suits their energy. I imagine them as large murals installed under bulletproof glass shadowboxes, in heavy metal frames. Public spaces like subways, railway stations or airports would be ideal. These are venues where humans and their belongings constantly lose and find each-other. Places where we often say goodbyes to our loved ones, causing sorrow, while those next to us cannot hold their tears of joy after reuniting with their biological or logical family members. These are rigid, industrial, commercial, often outdated, filthy spaces, and yet somehow they awaken the most genuine human emotions, without us caring to be seen or judged. People from all walks of life pass through them. I would be honored to think that the right audience would encounter my work unexpectedly at some airport—perhaps pausing, analyzing, questioning, or simply being present in the moment. Gallery spaces don’t necessarily fascinate me. They tend to feel interchangeable, serving multiple yet similar purposes. But working with the right curator who truly understands the core of my work, could open doors to more inspiring and unconventional venues. To be completely honest, in an ideal world, I dream of seeing my work in a complete silence—installed in an old, Japanese architecture/garden style like venue, surrounded by serenity and her majesty - mother nature. That would be the most beautiful experience and the greatest honor I could dare to envisage.
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