Metekhi Art was founded in Atlanta on July 31, 2008. The name Metekhi dates back to 12th century and literally means “the area around the palace”. It is also the name of the church – “Metekhi church of the Virgin” and a historic neighborhood of Tbilisi (Georgia), located on the elevated cliff that overlooks the Mtkvari river. Tbilisi, the native city of the founder and owner of the gallery, Lana Gavrilov, is the capital with numerous churches and mosques, towers, cobbled streets, caravanserais, taverns and workshops, the bridge over the river Mtkvari, mills chained onto raft, water-towers on the river and orchards.
Lana was born and raised in an ancient land with a deep cultural legacy, where she gained a profound appreciation of art since she was a child. She admired a diverse artistic tradition of her motherland, Georgia, a country of fascinating landscapes, ancient history and remarkable culture.

The Georgian artistic tradition that has experienced influences from Mesopotamian, Anatolian, Greek, Persian, Roman and Byzantine art throughout the antiquity, and in the Middle Ages was influenced by Christian ecclesiastical and middle-eastern art, and ultimately has evolved in the context of European and Russian art from the 19th century. The Metekhi Art is specialized in the contemporary European and American Art and Photography. It represents a variety of distinguished artists working in different media, such as Andres Acosta, Bertrand Tremblay, Carlos Solis, Ilya Chiatadze, Kristofer Lamey, Manuala Valenti among others. On June 12, 2009, Lana successfully exhibited the prominent Georgian Artists at the “Georgia Art in Georgia” art show at the Besharat Gallery in Atlanta.