19 August - 30 Sepember, opening 18 August 6 pm
The Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia presents the exhibition “Techniques” featuring the 12 members of the association. This event is a testing exposition of the new, long-awaited and long in reconstruction exhibition space and “home” of the ICA, which is located at 134 Vasil Levski Bul. in Sofia.
Tehniques
For the title of the “testing” event we have chosen the association with the Ancient Greek word “τέχνη” from which the very notion for art has originated. Our intention is to challenge and ridicule the wide spread notion that art practice, as well as the individual artist should be restricted by or dedicated to only a set of predetermined media.
The not so correct view that contemporary artists are associated mainly with the so-called new media is quite common in Bulgaria. Being wrong, this and any other such simplistic notions tend to restrict the freedom of creation and narrow the possibility to explore artistic expression without limits. The members of the ICA-Sofia decided to risk and realize their ideas in ways and techniques not typically identified with each one of them. In order to achieve the maximum clarity of the experiment we decided to “allocate” the various techniques (that are available freely to any contemporary artist the world over) to the members of the association through drawing lots – on pieces of paper the names of some basic techniques were written; then each artist drew from a hat one technique. The ICA-Sofia members do not doubt the role of luck in the career of an artist!
The exhibition “Techniques” aims to be a self-ironical comment on the making of art, on the notion of the uninfluenced creative search, on the ideas for mastery and uniqueness. The exhibition is being opened in the middle of the summer and at the height of the vacation season in Bulgaria because there is no “low season” for the ICA-Sofia…
The new home of ICA-Sofia is a fact now because of the unique generosity of Slava Nakovska and Nedko Solakov to who goes our deepest gratitude! The space was provided and renovated as a gallery by one Bulgarian artist, a founding member of ICA-Sofia, and his family. It will be used and managed by the ICA-Sofia as a gallery for contemporary art.
