Nedko Solakov's wide-ranging, highly personal work is the subject of a new touring exhibition, currently on show at the Kunstmuseum Bonn.
Nedko Solakov, installation view.
'I believe that with humor and sarcasm, I am touching on pretty serious matters.' What is it about Nedko Solakov's line drawings and captions that imbues them with the perfect mixture of naivete and critique, humour and melancholy, autobiography and universality? It's difficult to describe Solakov's generous work without touching on his life and training. Starting from his studies of wall painting at the art academy in Sofia, this Bulgarian artist, born in 1957, stood as a witness to the outrages, and vagaries, of daily life both under a repressive totalitarian regime, its fall and its aftermath. Over the last 25 years, Solakov has developed a multi-media oeuvre of strongly conceptual work, ranging from drawings on paper narrating anecdotes from the trivial to the surreal, to more strictly performative projects (such as his 'Black and White' wall paintings in Norwich a few years ago). Running through his work is a humorous, playful perspective on life, as stinging as it is melancholy, and which calls in question the authenticity of each and every system of representation.
From his exhibitions at Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw (2000), at New York PS1 (2001), the Rooseum in Malmö and the Reina Sofia in Madrid (2003) and, most recently, through his contributions to the Venice Biennale and documenta 12 (2007), Solakov has become one of the most important, influential figures in current European art. The Kunstmuseum Bonn is now hosting the artist's first large, institutional survey in Germany. The show includes examples of Solakov's work from the late 1980s up to 2007, weaving through new pieces commissioned specifically for this presentation.
'Nedko Solakov - 99 Fears', Phaidon.
Two new books celebrate Solakov's unique art practice. The lavish 'Nedko Solakov - 99 Fears' (Phaidon) publishes for the first time the artist's recent set of anxiety-inspired ink drawings, a highlight of Documenta 12 (2007).
'Nedko Solakov - 99 Fears' (number 10)
A sample 'Fear' (number 10) reads 'A man is already in heaven. It's kind of nice and calm although he still keeps his life-long fear of dying one day.'
And Hatje Cantz has just published 'Emotions', cataloguing Solakov's current, touring exhibition as well as previous projects.
Nedko Solakov, 'Emotions', Hatje Cantz.
NEDKO SOLAKOV, 'EMOTIONS'
To 16 Nov 2008
Kunstmuseum Bonn
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2
53113 Bonn, Germany
T: +49 (228) 776260
Exhibition schedule: Kunstmuseum Bonn, to 16 Nov, 2008 Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, 28 Feb - 10 May, 2009, Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, 12 July -4 Oct, 2009
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