From 23.06.2016, V. Zankov’s “The Last Citizens of Calais” will be on view at one of ONE Gallery’s spaces—Artium at Serdika Offices, 48 Sitnyakovo Blvd.
Album of Ventsislav Zankov’s solo sculpture exhibition at Artium, Serdika Offices
The works can be viewed Monday–Friday from 9:00 to 19:30; Saturday and Sunday by prior arrangement—contact telephone: 0876109088
“The Last Citizens of Calais” was realized with the support of the Central Fund for Strategic Development at the Board of Trustees of New Bulgarian University.
The theme of Zankov’s latest artistic project draws on Auguste Rodin’s concept for “The Burghers of Calais” and evokes associations with the contemporary situation in Europe.
With “The Last Citizens of Calais,” Ventsislav Zankov raises an important question: is the role of art to decorate and embellish reality, or should it be understood as a civic act and a form of political action?
In the works, we encounter a characteristically postmodern interweaving of associations and biographical, historical, and mythological elements, charged with the profound symbolism intrinsic to Zankov’s practice.
The sculptural installation, comprising nineteen realist sculptures executed with depth and dramatic intensity, was presented against the unusual backdrop of brick and concrete in one of the newly constructed wings of New Bulgarian University. As an artistic act, the figures symbolically made their journey to the premises of the Serdika Offices business building; echoing the actual events of 1346, they set out after being banished from their city.
Historical Background
Calais came under English control and remained an English city until 1558, providing an ideal bridgehead for attacks on France. The English lost control of the city during the reign of Mary I Tudor.
In 1880, the city authorities commissioned Auguste Rodin to create a statue depicting the inhabitants of Calais at the moment of their surrender. The Burghers of Calais was completed in 1888 and became one of Rodin’s best-known works.
In 1836, the composer Gaetano Donizetti wrote an opera entitled The Siege of Calais.
About the Artist
Ventzislav Zankov graduated in Sculpture from the National Academy of Art in Sofia in 1988. From 1997 to 2008, he was an adjunct lecturer, and since 2009 he has been a full-time lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts at New Bulgarian University. He holds a doctorate in Art Studies and Fine Arts (2013) and a master’s degree in Film and Television Art from New Bulgarian University (2016). His practice encompasses painting, sculpture, video, installation, performance, and new media. He is one of the most active Bulgarian artists to have emerged since 1989.
