The exhibition will be shown at ONE Gallery from July 9 to July 31 and features four Bulgarian artists representing various artistic genres and groups, who are presented not only as creators but also as authorities in the fields of history and art criticism. Using techniques and media characteristic of their spheres—video art and documentation, posters, photography, fashion, and more—they visualize and textualize a specific period of Bulgarian art, creating an original context in the form of a “family tree.” Their research is based on historical facts but filtered through personal experience and participation in historical processes. This year’s edition features Albena Mihaylova – Benji, Lilyana Karadjova, Mariela Gemisheva, and Nenko Atanasov.
second edition
Artists
Albena Mihaylova – Benji
Lilyana Karadjova
Mariela Gemisheva
Nenko Atanasov
Curator Gergana Mudova
Curator
Gergana Mudova
Mariela Gemisheva’s installation, Collection of Women, presents documentation—some of which is already archival—and significant objects that illustrate one of the fundamental ideas in my work as an artist and designer since the 1980s: “to paint with living people.” Gemisheva’s work visualizes her passion for working with many people, very different from one another, but primarily women: art historians and curators, journalists, models, photographers, garment technicians, students, stylists… in general, all kinds of feminine and not-so-feminine professions. The documents exist as a process, and the objects as images—moments of an ongoing art action. “That is the idea—to create, or at least for a moment to organize, the perfect Collection of Women for me. And here fashion appeared quite naturally and logically as the primary medium; the phenomenal ability of fashion to depict in action became a primary tool in my actions as an artist and designer.” A key segment of the installation is Mariela Gemisheva’s fashion performance Fashion Fire from 2003.
Nenko Atanasov’s Genealogy of the Bulgarian Theater Poster notes and chronologically intersects some of the significant artists in the Bulgarian theater poster scene. Starting from the teachers and pioneers in the creation of its artistic form and essence in the 1960s, reaching all the way to the present day. This unique cataloging is a subjective panorama of names of artists who have left a mark on the most attractive and meaningful genre in the art of the poster. The purpose of this perspective is to distance the viewer from the impact of the specific work by focusing their attention on the personal signature of the poster artist. In this way, the arranged autographs are transformed into work-frames, symbolizing the sequence, influence, and interconnection between different generations of authors.
Lilyana Karadjova’s installation “Alternative Photography in Bulgaria” presents authors who use radical language to counteract mainstream trends. Alternative photography emerged in the 1980s as a reaction against aesthetic conformism in the commercial sector and later developed as a revolt against mass photography, which neglects the history of the medium and imposes images of questionable quality. Institutionally independent photographers and visual artists counteract the depersonalization of the photographic by using complex photographic processes interpreted with a contemporary approach. Lilyana Karadjova captures their portraits and invites them to create an artistic interpretation of their interactions. Participants include Vanessa Lu, Velin Zayachki, Veneta Tileva, Vladislav Lepoev, Kalin Kostov, Nikola Dyulgyarov, Radostin Sedevchev, Rayna Vlaskovska, and Stanka Tsonkova – Usha.
I Dreamed I Existed
“When we talk about contemporary art in Bulgaria, we always turn to the archives. What is it about—the art of today or the art of yesterday?” Albena Mihaylova – Benji’s presentation, I Dreamed I Existed, tells the story of artistic processes from 1989 to the present. Benji collects certain (arte)facts with which she is professionally and very personally connected, structures them chronologically, and supports them with documentary material—moments from the history of RUB, with a turn toward the present day and the group Women of RUB, as a large part of the groups’ archives are kept by her.
The project is organized by the Musiz Foundation and funded by the “Culture” program of Sofia Municipality 2020.
The first edition of the exhibition was based on an idea by Ivan Mudov and Dessislava Dimova.
About the Artists
Albena Mihaylova – Benji is an artist and co-founder of the Plovdiv-based group RUB, which became legendary for its unconventional manner. She has taught at the High School of Stage and Screen Arts in Plovdiv. Albena Mihaylova – Benji lives in Switzerland, from where she organizes artist exchanges, projects, and festivals between the two countries.
Dr. Lilyana Karadjova is a photographer, philosopher, PhD in Art History and Fine Arts, a lecturer at the National Academy of Arts and New Bulgarian University, and a long-time contributor to L’Europeo magazine.
Dr. Nenko Atanasov is a Chief Assistant Professor in the Department of Poster and Visual Communication at the National Academy of Arts and holds a PhD in Art History and Fine Arts. He is a member of the management of the Graphic Design section of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, as well as a member of the board of the Chamber of Designers in Bulgaria.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mariela Gemisheva is a fashion designer and artist in the fields of performance, installation, and objects, and a lecturer in the Fashion department at the National Academy of Arts. Mariela Gemisheva is known for numerous unconventional and memorable experimental solutions in the field of fashion and art performance. Provocation is an essential element in her work, turning limitations into advantages.
