Shota Leladze was born in Georgia in 1955. He pursued his higher education at the Institute of Arts and Crafts in Kharkov, Ukraine, and then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tbilisi, at the Faculty of Painting, Cinema and Theatre. He then worked at the Tbilisi Opera, the Kutaisi Opera and the National Puppet Theatre as a stage decorator. He also collaborated with the satirical magazine « Crocodile » as a caricaturist.
Following numerous successful exhibitions in Georgia and Russia, he moved to France, where he continued his painting. In recent years he was the subject of seven personal exhibitions, including four at the Galérie Paradoxe and one at the University Robert Schuman.
Shota is also known for his decorative work at the Orthodox Russian Church in Luxembourg, and for his frescos in Molsheim, Alsace. He places himself in the context of the Symbolist movement, and the figure that he paints most often is that of Don Quixote, whom he describes as « noble, loyal and proud », a true knight of the 21st century.
He draws his inspiration for his paintings from biblical subjects. He sketches with a subtle irony moments from everyday life, inspired by literary characters from Tolstoy and Gogol, as well as French writers and poets.
"Concerning my exhibition at the Council of Europe, my aim is to demonstrate the synthesis between French and Georgian culture and to discover how the public thinks and reacts to my works, which combine illustrations from French and Spanish poetry, notably Don Quixote, and the Georgian culture that is such an integral part of my personality".