The centerpiece of the Georgia Pavilion at Palazzo Palumbo Fossati is “65 Maximiliana or the Illegal Practice of Astronomy”, a 1964 volume dedicated to Wilhelm Tempel, the rebellious astronomer who defied the limits of academic science
The book is dedicated to Ernst Wilhelm Tempel (1821-1889), a German astronomer and lithographer known for his unconventional and sensual approach to astronomy, underestimated by his contemporaries due to his lack of academic training. He also lived and worked in Italy, particularly in Venice, where he observed comets with the naked eye from the Contarini del Bovolo staircase. Zdanevich traced his own history back to Tbilisi, where his publishing house, “41 Degrees” — a latitude Tbilisi shares with Rome, Madrid, New York, and other cities — promoted a futurist poetic language. Shortly after emigrating to Paris in 1921, he adopted the name Iliazd and published several important books, including Maximiliana, blending poetry and astronomy to highlight the experience of exiles both physically and metaphysically.
The Art of Seeing – States of Astronomy, curated by Julia Marchand and David Koroshinadze, is an exhibition conceived as a living archive that invites the public to engage with Tempel’s fascinating biography through original materials and new works. Rodrigue de Ferluc and Juliette George created unique furniture pieces inspired by Iliazd’s typography, establishing an original visual and spatial identity. Nika Koplatadze, inspired by Maximiliana, produced a series of art books based on his interpretations of star maps and other cosmic themes. Grigol Nodia’s video projection Lonely Planet offers a meditative journey in search of an innocent rhythm.
