PRAVDOLIUB IVANOV selected works

www.sariev-gallery.com

PRAVDOLIUB IVANOV was born in 1964 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He graduated from National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia in 1993 where he presently is a Chief Assistant – Professor. He lives and works in Sofia, Bulgaria and is a founder member of the Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia. Pravdoliub Ivanov has held solo exhibitions in private galleries in Sofia, Plovdiv, Warsaw, Vienna and institutions in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and New York. He has participated in big international shows such as: 2015: Heaven and Hell, From magic carpets to drones. Villa Empain, Brussels, (Curators: D. Hennebert and C. Dosogne) End Fragment; 2014: Future Past – Past Future, within the framework of the Transmediale, Berlin; 2013: The Unanswered Question, TANAS and Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin,; 2012: In Crisis –Terra Mediterranea, The Nicosia Municipal Art Centre, Nicosia; Sport in Art, MOCAK, Krakow, Poland; Beautiful game, City Art Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia; 2011: Within / Beyond Borders – The Collection of the European Investment Bank at the Byzantine & Christian Museum, Athens, Greece; Zwischenlager / Entrepot, Krinzinger Gallery, Vienna; An Elusive Object of Art, Dana Charkasi Gallery, Vienna; Vidéo et après Suspended Spaces #1, Screening at Cinema 1, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; 2010: “Suspended spaces - depuis Famagusta”, Amiens, France; 2009: “Who Killed the Painting?", works from the Block Collection, Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen, Germany 2007: A Place You Have Never Been Before, 52 nd Venice Biennial, Bulgarian Pavilion; 2006: Of Mice and Men, 4th Berlin Biennial. 2005: Sous les ponts, le long de la rivière-2, Luxembourg. 2004: On Reason and Emotion, 14th Sydney Biennial. 2003: In the Gorges of the Balkans, Fridericianum Museum, Kassel, Germany; Blut & Honig, Zukunft ist am Balkan, Essl Collection, Vienna, Austria. 2000: Manifesta 3, Borderline Syndrome, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Pravdoliub's works have been reproduced in magazines such as Frieze, Flash Art, Kunstforum, Аrtforum etc., as well as in publications such as East Art Map. SARIEV Contemporary represents Pravdoliub Ivanov since 2011 and presented his work at ViennaFair (2014, 2013, 2011); Istanbul Contemporary (2012, 2011); ArtInternational Istanbul (2015, 2014); Shanghai Contemporary (2012); Roma Contemporary (2012); Art Brussels (2016), Art Cologne (2016).

www.sariev-gallery.com/artists/Pravdoliub_Ivanov

The works of Pravdoliub Ivanov revolve around phenomena of spatiality in which norms are disrupted and trompe l’oeil effects are inserted into an everyday visual vocabulary. By intermingling public and private moments, the artist transfers private matters into the realm of the gallery or art space, tying in specific architectural tropes as he does so. Ivanov plays with irritating elements: he uses ironic gestures taken from mundane and incidental everyday situations to evoke a heightened awareness for routine encounters that might otherwise often go unnoticed. The juxtaposition of unusual objects and materials forms the basis for Ivanov’s installations, which generally tend to produce uncanny moments for their viewers. In keeping with the Freudian concept of the uncanny, these are phenomena that seem familiar and foreign at the same time. Whoever experiences such situations feels uncomfortable and has to ask him or herself just where these strange feelings are coming from. Freud viewed such impulses as repressed feelings deriving from the id and forced upon us by the superego as a manifestation of the symbolic fear of castration or punishment as a consequence of neglecting traditional social norms. The paradoxical nature of being both attracted to and alienated from Ivanov’s art objects and installations gives rise to a state of cognitive dissonance; this makes it difficult to perceive his works of art as rational manifestations within space. His uncanny constructions of reality arouse the viewer’s desire for a detailed perception of our various everyday environments, which are usually given short shrift as we pass by all too quickly. Ivanov presses the “Pause” button on various everyday phenomena and creates ironic links of belonging, for instance patching up cheese holes with band aids (Pessimism No More, 2004) or cutting a carpet in a shape such as results from a stone hitting a window pane (Ornaments of Endurance, 2011). Such prank-like interventions in both public and private spaces characterize Ivanov’s artistic working method, which he has been applying in many different contexts for nearly two decades. Walter Seidl

Installations / Large works

Territories, 1995,"soil, fabric, wood, metal,"size of the corridor:"350 x 200 x 1200 cm"Installation view: 4th Istanbul Biennial, Turkey"Collection René Block"

…At the Antrepo, the most interesting art was grounded in politics. Pravdoliub Ivanov provides a stark elegy to the consequences of nationalism with a row of indistinguishable flags stiffened by mud.""Eleanor Heartney"Art Press, 1995"

Territories, 1995, remade-2003,"soil, fabric, wood, metal holders,"Installation view:"Fridericianum Museum, Kassel, Germany"

Territories, 1995, remade-2003,"Detail"Fridericianum Museum, Kassel, Germany"

Transformation Always Takes Time And Energy, 1998, hot plates, pots, tea pots, cables, water, electricity, time, dimensions variable Edition 4 different versions Edition 1/4 – Collection Kontakt, ERSTE Bank Group

… I would like to have the title and the work itself “sounding” like an absurd mix between a school example for a law of physics and a naive political appeal for social patience.Pravdoliub IvanovText for Manifesta-3 catalogue"

Memory is Muscle, 2007 resin, silicone, polycarbonate, 100 x 100 x 300 cm 52 Venice Biennial, Bulgarian Pavilion

Ornaments of Demand, 2011-2013 cut wool carpet mounted on wall 255 x 175 сm

Fairy Tale Device Crashed, 2013 installation, cut carpet, hidden aluminium construction, 275 x 420 x 88.5 cm" Collection: Vehbi Koç Foundation

The work is using a real carpet deconstructed in a way to create illusion of a flying carpet crashed in a wall. The magical flying carpet is a popular fantastic figure from arab fairy-tails. So, the title is like a clue for "reading" the work and it's meaning. I am not afraid to say that the idea for some of my works came from the latest development in Arabic World, perhaps a prelude to a greatest change nowadays. Though having roots in concrete political events I wish not to have my works as political slogans. The political events are only a trigger not a reason for making my works. I developed my projects as an attempt to understand and explain the Global World to myself. Pravdoliub Ivanov

Half Truth, 1999"Two-part installation: indoors and outdoors,"various materials, dimensions and languages""In photos:"Outdoor part — spray-painted letters on asphalt"Indoor part — foil letters on wall"Installation view Musee des Beaux Arts, La Chaux de-Fonds, Switzerland""Edition of 2 versions + 1AP for each language Edition1/2 Deutsch version at Deutsche Telecom Collection

Half Truth (version Halbwahrheit), 1999 - 2005 Indoor - mirror aluminum letters on the wall (down part of the word Halbwahrheit) 35 x 485 cm Outdoor - stickers spread out the town (upper part of the word Halbwahrheit) 10x20 cm Museum Leerer Beutel”, Regensburg, Germany

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Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman, 2005 metal base, washbasins and buckets 1100 X 100 X 100 cm, City of Luxembourg,Courtesy: Casino Luxembourg

Pessimism No More, 2002 installation view and detail Musee des Beaux Arts, City of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Swiss

Pessimism No More, 2002 Cheese, plasters, plates, school desks and chairs Detail and installation view at Museum of Contemporary Art-Sydney, 2004 14th Sydney Biennial

So Many Reasons, 2004 cut door and table, painted room Gallerie fur Zeitgenossische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany

Hope, Hopeful, Hopefulness, 2005 manipulated traffic light, lighting only in green

There Are No Forbidden Thoughts, 2007 installation, kinetic object metal, electric motor, time

There Are No Perfect Games, 2008-2012 manipulated found objects, dimensions variable two versions Installation view: MOCAK, Krakow Numbers of various balls are dismantled and reconstructed on reverse. That way, all the hidden, inner part of the balls is exposed to the public.

There Are No Perfect Games,2008-2012 Detail

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Conquerors & Conquered, 2013-2014 Silk ribbons for military and sports orders and medals308 x 300 cmInstallation view: Krinzinger Gallery, Vienna

Conquerors & Conquered, 2013-2014 Details

Walking in His Shoes, 2012 carpet, pair of shoes, 400 x 70 cm

Form From Form, 2012"Rotation mechanism, double-sided light box, metal post"Total height 460 cm"Realized during Sculpture Quadrennial, Riga"

The project is working with the idea of transformation as an endless process, while with its homonymous word-game tries to confuse the both - static in the meaning of the word FORM and the dynamism in the word FROM. The work is also playing with intentional confusing of the two realms – the commercial, advertising vision, implementing “promising” status from one side and sculptural, provocative and confusing way of existence of an art work form the other side. Pravdoliub Ivanov 2012 - 2013 "

Trouble is Always Double, 1997 - 2015 stainless metal sticks, metal holders, artificial silk 320 x 180 x 150 cm (sizes may differ slightly, according to the given space)

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Up or Down, 2015 wood 340 x 935 x 58 cm Front view

Up or Down, 2015 340 x 935 x 58 cm side view

The Ladder, 2015 wood, metal 333 x 230 x 85 cm

Vehicles Dream, 1998 100 color photos of sleeping new yorkers, mounted on platform wheels. 7 x 9.5 cm (size of the photos)

Works on wall

Bent Figure, 1997 Photo-lithography on paper, Edition 1/3 120 x 85 cm (size framed)

Border By Memory, 2006 25 x 110 cm, neon edition of 5 + 2AP Collection European Investment Bank, Luxembourg, Sofia City Art Gallery, and private collection

Border By Memory is an image of my attempt to draw the line of border between Bulgaria and Romania by memory. The drawing and respectively the neon are very approximate and not correct picture of that border. Every mistake of my hand was “loss to” or “enlarge” this or that of both countries. The title itself is like a clue for understanding the work and its references to the memory and history of that border in its dramatic transformation during last century, affecting many lives. Pravdoliub Ivanov "

Enlightenment, 2008 Wall intervention, acrylic paint dimensions variable

Endarkenment, (project-2014) object of laser-cut steel, powder coated in black dimensions variable edition of 3 + 2 AP

Balance Ball, 2008 object of laser-cut steel, powder coated in black 90 x 95 cm edition of 5 + 2 AP

Illusion II, 2010 object of laser-cut steel powder coated, 77 x 95 cm edition of 5 + 2 AP

Little (Much Too Little /A Little Too Much), 2009 installation, neon, automatic switch 170 x 16 x 5 cm Edition 5+2AP Edition 1/5 Private collection

The project is based on a hardly translatable word construction using the words Little and Much in reversed way. The two phrases are so often used in their contrast meaning that somehow express all of our hopes and disappointments. The blinking neon words change the two phrases by living the word Little constantly lighting. Pravdoliub Ivanov

This is not Art…, 2011 plasticine, black wall dimensions variable edition of 3 + 2AP

Never Enough, 2011-2013 paper stencil, spray paint directly on wall, 75 x 260 x 4 cm

The work consists of an overused paper stencil on the wall and black sprayed letters overwriting kind of comment or even reject of the modernistic paradigm slogan Less is More cut into the stencil. This is a mixture between aesthetic and political/social gesture. I think it's irony could be read on multiple levels. Pravdoliub Ivanov

What You See, 2013, Part of the project What You See is Not What You Get neon mounted on metal box, 100 х 100 x 11 cm, Edition 3 + 2 AP

Mystic Truths, 2013 Installation view and detail, intervention, pencil, edition 3 + 2 AP

Tools, 2013 B&W photo, newspaper, printed paper 85 x 116 cm framed edition 2

Objects

Childhood, 2014 20 x 10 x 60 cm (size without the cable)

Unnamed Light-boxes, 2014 Photography, light boxes with irregular geometry, Various dimensions

Untitled (Curly Brush), 2009 object, curled brush, plexiglas box, Edition 3+2AP 34.5 x 9 x 5 cm (size of the brush)

Trap, 2007 mouse trap, electric bulb, holder, cable 13x13x27 cm edition of 3+2 AP

No Name, 2004 multiple, silicon, cement 13 x 17 x 30 cm edition 5

Bigger drawings

The Truth About The Truth, 2012 drawing, pencil, black ink on paper 110 x 145 cm

Too Personal to Matter, 2013 ink on paper140 x 110 cmCollection: Rene Block

Too Personal to Matter, 2013 Detail

Great Paper Wall, 2012 drawing, watercolor on paper 110 x 140 cm

Water level, 2012 drawing, watercolor on paper 85 x 110 cm

Water level, 2012 detail

Silver & Gold, 2013 Part of the project What You See is Not What You Get oil on 300 gr Arches paper on stretcher, 90 x 110 cm

Just Because-II, 2012 acrylic and lacquer on cardboard in shadow frame carton pieces are not fixed, so every move or tilt of the frame reconfigure the composition 85.5 x 83 x 7 cm (size of the shadow-frame as integral part of the work)

Drawings

Illusion III, 2011 ink, tempera on paper 57 x 60 cm (size framed)

A Study for a Brick, 2012 watercolor on paper 50 x 70,5 cm

Flag, 2007 pencil and ink on paper 29.7 x 21 cm

Balance ball, 2008 pencil, water colour on paper 30 x 38 cm

Noses, 2011 nasal drops on paper 21 x 29.7 cm

Self Portrait Around the Clock, 2011 pencil and watercolor on paper 76 x 55 cm

Glass of Water, 2012 Pencil and gloss varnish on paper 50 x 70 cm

Glass of Water, 2012 Detail

Weight, 2014 watercolor on paper 56 x 76 cm

Project drawings

Territory, 1995 pencil, ink on paper 21 x 29.7 cm

Trouble is Always Double, project, 1997/2007 pencil and watercolor on paper 29.7 x 21 cm

So Many Reasons, projects, 2004 pencil and watercolor on paper 24 x 30.7 cm

Monument to the Unknown Washer woman, 2005 drafts pencil and water color on paper24 x 30.7 cm

The Life of Others is Somehow Easier, drafts, 2005 pencil, tempera 24 x 32 cm

Memory is Muscle, 2007 21 x 29.7 cm

Trap, 2007 pencil and watercolor on paper 20 x 29 cm

Load on, project, 2010 pencil and watercolor on paper 21 x 29.7 cm

Walking in his shoes, project, 2012 watercolor on paper 20 x 29 cm

Form From Form, 2011 pencil, tempera 50 x 33 cm

Up Or Down-II, 2012 watercolor, pencil, collage on paper 33 x 50 cm

The Truth About the Truth, 2012 pencil and watercolor on paper 21 x 29.7 cm

Object with neon tubes and plastic bottle, 2012 project pencil and watercolor on paper 21 x 29.7 cm

Water Spiral, 2012 watercolor on paper 36 x 48 cm

Just Because, 2012 project pencil and watercolor on paper 40 x 60 cm

Unnamed Light Boxes, projects, 2012 collage, tempera, pencil on paper 32 x 24 cm

Never Gave Up, project, 2012 pencil and watercolor on paper 40 x 60 cm

Seeing is Journey, project, 2013 pencil and watercolor on paper 40 x 60 cm

There Is Certain Comfort In Abstraction, project, 2014 pencil and aquarel on paper 30 x 40 cm

Sudden Ornaments in Continuum, project, 2015 print, collage, pencil on paper 20 x 29 cm

Digital drawings

Existing Objects-I, 2002-2003 digital drawings, 21 x 29.7 cm edition of 5+2 AP

Existing Objects-II, 2002-2003 digital drawings, 21 x 29.7 cm edition of 5+2 AP Edition 1/5 – Collection European Patent Office - Munich

Existing Objects-V, 2002-2003 digital drawing, 21 x 29.7 cm edition of 5+2 AP

Existing Objects-VI, 2002-2003 digital drawing, 29.7 x 21 cm edition of 5+2 AP Edition 1/5 – Private Collection - Sofia; 2/5 –Private collection - Vienna

Existing Objects-III, 2002-2003 digital drawing, 21 x 29.7 cm edition of 5+2 AP

Existing Objects-VII, 2002-2003 digital drawing, 21 x 29.7 cm

Existing Objects-VIII, 2002-2003 digital drawing, 21 x 29.7 cm

Existing Objects-VIII, 2002-2003 digital drawing, 21 x 29.7 cm Edition 5

Video works

A Trip, 2009-2010 video, silent, 2’03” Edition of 50 www.pravdo.com/a-trip.html

Black Balloons, 2013 HD video, sound, 1’10” Edition 5 + 2 AP www.pravdo.com/black-balloons-2013.html

The work is based on a short footage filmed during one of the everyday peaceful, anti-government demonstrations in the summer of 2013 in Sofia. On that particular day, one of the protestors brought hundreds of black balloons distributing them among the people. They blew them up and later, marching by the building of the Parliament, heavily fenced and blocked by the police forces, began throwing their balloons into the guarded area."The speed of the movie is slowed down and this mainly affects the recorded noise, since the policemen were motionless. No additional effects were added to the sound, which appears almost as eerie as the display of state power."!Sandra Naumann"

Photo works

One Hour, 1996 photo installation, photographed 60 minutes of one hour B&W photo, 20 x 20 cm each edition 3+2AP

Detail"

Hand Print, 2001 two color photos 50 x 75 cm each edition of 3 + 1AP

Existing Object XII-B, 2003 color photo, 60 x 40 cm edition of 5 + 2 AP

From the series Non-Works ongoing project started 2007 color photo, 76 x 100 cm edition 5 + 2 AP

From the series Non-Works ongoing project started 2007 color photo, 40 x 60 cm edition: 5 + 2 AP

From the series Non-Works ongoing project started 2007 color photo, 40 x 60 cm edition 5 + 2 AP

From the series Non-Works ongoing project started 2007 color photo, 76 x 100 cm edition 5 + 2 AP

From the series Non-Works ongoing project started 2007 color photo, 26 x 35 cm edition: 10

Let them Draw, 2009 series of 12 B&W photos 3+1 AP 27 x 35 cm each

Multiples

Puzzled puzzle, 2011 multiple, puzzle 19.5 x 29 cm edition of 100

For any other information please contact SARIEV Contemporary

Vesselina Sarieva + 359 888 520 375

vesselina@sariev-gallery.com

SARIEV Contemporary 40 Otets Paisiy str., Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria

www.sariev-gallery.com

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