Between Welcome and Goodbye

The exhibition is featuring work from Bulgarian-born artists who do not live in Bulgaria. It is intriguing as it provides insight into the type of art they make in view of the specifics of the contemporary art scene in the countries they live in and the networks within which they work. The exhibition focuses on artists themselves – on the position they have chosen and the way they define where they stand with respect to the world and the general art scene which is turning more and more into a medium for negotiations and various social contracts as a result of the ongoing globalization processes. And the latter involve economic, cultural and political positions and interests. Contemporary artists participate in those negotiations defining their own position in the world. And this position is reflected by the variety of cultural hybrids in between the extremities of local and global without being that much influenced by the already outdated notions of traditional cultural or national identity.

The diversity of artist positions is also reflected by the variety of media employed by individual artists, namely: painting, drawing, video, photography, sculpture, and also performance, action painting, installation. The exhibition comments upon the art scene in Bulgaria and the opportunities it provides for the creation of art. It presents a multifaced image of the contemporary young Bulgarian artist, who is free from the limitations and the trauma of inherited cultural identity faced by artists in the early 90’s. The implicit message of the exhibition is that the artist is a “citizen of the world”. The crossing points of various cultural contexts with differing problems and perspectives constitute the exhibition’s content. Therefore the exhibition’s open perspective suggests that both the individual artist and the local art scene should seek to identify themselves within the broader context of the global modern art scene.

The exhibition is made with support of the American Foundation for Bulgaria

Works featured in the exhibition and artist profiles: (original work titles are in English and German)

Vasilena Gankovska: “A Burggarten Afternoon” (1, 2, 3, 4, 2007 (oil paints, marker on canvas)

Vasilena Gankovska was born in Troyan, Bulgaria in 1978. She graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia in 2001 and continued with her studies in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna where she is currently working on her PhD thesis in the field of cultural research. The exhibitions of her work include: „Park Life“, Artothek-Galerie, Vienna, 2006, Raum/Zeit, together with Markus Dressler in Siemens ArtLab, Vienna, 2005. She also participated in group projects, including „Translation without alternative“, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, 2005, „Reproduction without alternative“, АТА Centre for Contemporary Art, Sofia, 2004, etc.

Daniela Kostova and Olivia Robinson: „I Am What You Want Me To Be”, 2007, video, digital prints

Daniela Kostova was born in 1974 in Sofia, Bulgaria. She graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts Sofia in 1998 and was awarded and MFA degree upon completion of the Program in Electronic Arts at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y. (2005). Projects of hers were presented in Assab One, Milan (2007), Siggraph, San Diego, CA (2007), MAN Museum, Нуоро, Italy (2006), Gallerie d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Ferrara, Italy (2006), CEC ArtsLink, New York, (2006), Small Gallery, Tirana (2006), Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2005), Centre d’art Contemporain, Geneva (2004), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Тоrino (2004), Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2003). Between 2000 and 2003 Daniela was the director and curator of the Irida Gallery, Sofia. She is currently teaching Electronic Arts and curating the BioArt Initiative at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensseler Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Olivia Robinson lives and works in the USA. She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art and was also awarded a degree in Electronic Arts by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. She has put up performances and exhibitions in the Baltimore Museum of Art, the WPA/Corcoran Museum in Washington, D.C., the American Visionary Art Museum, the Museo d'Arte Provincia di Nuoro in Sardegna, Italy, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Performa 05 at PS1 in New York, and the 2005 and 2007 Boston Cyberarts Festivals. She is an assistant professor at the Department of Art at the Syracuse University in Syracuse, N. Y.

Iva Vacheva: „Two semesters at Studio No 51”, 2004, mixed media (Zwei Semester im Atelier Nr 51)

Iva Vacheva was born in 1981 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. She graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts Sofia in 2004 and went on with her studies at the Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der Künste Berlin). The exhibitions she participated in include Preview Berlin, Kunstagenten Contemporary Art Gallery in Berlin; Sondern Ausstellung der UdK in Art Frankfurt; Youth Arts Festival, Greece; Istanbul Student Triennale and her latest solo exhibition in Krammig & Pepper Contemporary in Berlin. In 2003 she won a painting award presented by the Post Bank Sofia.

Kamen Stoyanov: „Brake Shous” 15 drawings

Kamen Stoyanov was born in 1977 in Rousse, Bulgaria. He graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts Sofia and later graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He is currently an assistant professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. The exhibitions he participated in include “Last Minute”, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig; “Blood and Honey, Future is on the Balkans”, Sammlung Essel, Klosterneuburg, “Reproduction without alternative”, АТА Centre for Contemporary Art, Sofia, SUITCASE ILLUMINATED # 5 Parallel Economies, P74 Center and Gallery Ljubljana. Kamen Stoyanov won various awards including the Vienna Visual Arts Award (2007) and the MUMOK award in Zone 1 of the International Contemporary Art Fair Vienna (2007).

Kosta Tonev: Costa, 2007, video, print, wall drawing

Kosta Tonev was born in 1980 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts Sofia in 2004 and went on with his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in the same year. The exhibitions he participated in include „Important message” and „(Monstro)City tales” in the Sofia City Art Gallery, „Play Sofia” in Kunsthalle, Vienna, Donumenta in Regensburg, Germany, etc. Kosta Tonev’s solo exhibitions include: The Day Is Not Over – A New Day Is Coming Kunsthalle, Meidling, Vienna, Austria, The Full Picture, Sofia City Art Gallery, Sofia and Dimensions of Personal Comfort, Gallery XXL, Sofia.

Lazar Lyutkov: „Reserved”, 2007, 8 photographs and „The Thief”, 2007, action

Lazar Lyutkaov was born in 1977 in Shabla, Bulgaria. Between 1996 and 1998 he studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts Sofia. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2005. The exhibitions he participated in include SOCIAL SCULPTURE / CULTURAL DESIGN No. 2, Michael Hall Contemporary, Vienna; Suedbahnhoff hl.st., Gandy Gallery, Bratislava; Same Same But Different, Ryllega Gallery, Hanoi; Fat Plants (together with Karin Fauchard and Michael Weidhofer) in the „Pistolet” Gallery and Remember Sofia Underground, at the Shipka 6 Gallery, Sofia. Lazar Lyutkaov is among the co-founders of the Lassie exhibition space in Vienna (2004), who also co-initiated “Baba Vasa’s Basement” exhibition space in Shabla, Bulgaria.

Stoyan Dabov: Heart to Head Makeup, digital prints

Stoyan Dabov was born in 1985 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and currently lives and works in San Francisco, California. He is a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. Dabov's work has been exhibited broadly throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including "Drawing Chance," a solo exhibition at the Diego Rivera Gallery and group exhibitions at The Garage Biennale and Balazo 18. His public performances/interventions have been carried out in range of California locations, including the Marin Headlands in Sausalito, the Berkeley Hills, Treasure Island and Chinatown, San Francisco.

Vaska Emanouilova Gallery presents:
Between Welcome and Goodbye
Kurator: Vladiya Mihaylova

mit Vasilena Gankovska, Daniela Kostova / Olivia Robinson, Iva Vacheva, Kamen Stoyanov, Kosta Tonev, Lazar Lyutakov, Stoyan Dabov