Bulgarian Pavilion, Bulgaria at Venice Biennale of Art - Bulgarian Pavilion, Spazio Rava, San Polo 1100, - City of Venice
(Photo: Bulgarian Pavilion, © Kalin Serapianov)
Exhibition in progress from April 23rd to November 27th 2022
The 59th Biennale Arte will open to the public on 23 April. But on the 20th, 21st and 22nd there will be the various openings and collateral events that always suddenly animate the Venetian artistic life. The awards ceremony will take place on the day of the opening to the public.
The title of the 59th edition of the Biennale d'Arte is Il Latte dei Sogni that means The Milk of Dreams.
The invited artists are 213 from 58 countries. There are 26 Italian artists, 180 the first participations in the International Exhibition, 1433 the works and objects on display, 80 new productions.
In all, 80 nations will participate in the Venice Biennale in the pavilions at the Giardini, the Arsenale and in the historic center of Venice.
Go to the page of the 59th Venice Art Biennale
Bulgarian Pavilion, Bulgaria at 59th Biennale Arte of Venice
The title of the exhibition at the Bulgarian Pavilion is There you are.
Artists: Mikhail Mihailov.
Curators: Irina Batkova.
Commissioner: Yara Bubnova, director National Gallery, Sofia.
Seat: Bulgarian Pavilion, Spazio Rava,
San Polo 1100 (beside Rialto Bridge)
Venezia 30125 - Venice
Press Release of Bulgarian Pavilion
On 22 April, in the presence of Iliana Yotova, Vice President of
the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian pavilion was opened at the 59th International Art
Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Artist Michail Michailov�s project, There You Are,
curated by Irina Batkova, attracted a large number of international professionals and media
representatives. Among the large crowd gathered at the entrance of Spazio Rav�, where the
Bulgarian Pavilion is located, were many Bulgarian artists, curators and collectors, who
patiently awaited the performances of Michail Michailov and Patrick Lammer.
The introductory words of the Commissioner for the Bulgarian participation, Iara
Boubnova, were followed by the speech of welcome delivered by Ms Iliana Yotova, patron of
the Bulgarian Pavilion. Irina Batkova concluded the official opening with a curatorial tour of
the exhibition space and presented in detail the There You Are project to Vice President Iliana
Yotova, her team, and HE Mr Todor Stoyanov, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Italy.
In his There You Are project, Michail Michailov connects the architecture of the space
with his sculptures and drawings, and with the Just Keep on Going video, all reflecting the
experiences of the artist throughout his extended isolation in the years of the pandemic. The
exquisite drawings �from nature� from the Dust to Dust series, capturing the course of everyday
life in its almost invisible details, impressed visitors with their large format and virtuosity of
execution.
Irina Batkova noted: �The exhibition�s illusory minimalism is filled with details that
stimulate the public to play with them mentally and physically, to try to understand their
function and use them. Their strangeness and seeming futility open our senses to analogies
with the strangeness and futility in our lives.�
The specially designed performance space in the garden�Headspacing�allowed the
artist to be present among the public and simultaneously to be an art object. �I often ask myself
what is real and what is not, or what makes sense and what does not. What makes something
�important�? In this context, I also ask myself what actually has value and why,� stated
Michailov.
The There You Are project at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di
Venezia is accompanied by a publication that combines curatorial and poetic views on the
essence of the visual objects included in the project. It has essays by Giorgio Agamben,
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Michail Michailov, and Irina Batkova, a speech of welcome by Iliana
Yotova, and an introduction by Iara Boubnova. It was designed by Magdalina Stancheva,
Poststudio.
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria and the National Gallery are the
organisers of the Bulgarian national exhibition at the the 59th International Art Exhibition of
La Biennale di Venezia.
At the opening, the guests of the Bulgarian Pavilion had the opportunity to taste a
selection of Bulgarian wines provided by AYA Estate Vineyards and Alexandra Winery &
Vineyards.
Michail Michailov, born in 1978 in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, lives and works in Vienna and
Paris. After completing his education in the arts, he worked for a few years with the artists�
group, Gelitin, in Vienna. In addition to his other awards, he won a prize at the 2018 Drawing
Now Art Fair in Paris. Michailov uses his classical training in fine arts as the basis of a critical,
experimental, process-based work that explores themes revolving around ideals of perfection
and questions of existence.
Irina Batkova is a critic and independent curator living and working in Sofia. Her research
areas are varied but focus on the crossover between contemporary art and design, architecture,
performance, video, and new media practices.
She has organised and curated projects at venues
including the Sofia Arsenal � Museum of Contemporary Art; The State Museum of Oriental
Art, Moscow; the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul; The Ancient Baths Center for Contemporary Art,
Plovdiv; Port Warehouse No. 5, Varna; the Vienna K�nstlerhaus; and Akbank Sanat, Istanbul.
Irina Batkova is the founder and curator of Art Project Depot, a platform for contemporary arts
and culture
Useful information for the visit.
Hours:
Gardens from 10.00 to 19.00. Arsenale from 10.00 to 19.00 (from 10.00 to 20.00 on Friday and Saturday until September 30th). Closed on Mondays (except May 13, September 2, November 18).
Tickets: please visit the official website.
Phone: +39.041.5218711; fax +39.041.5218704
E-mail: aav@labiennale.org
Web: Biennale
of Venice |
