KAMEN STOYANOV portfolio

KAMEN STOYANOV
portfolio
selected works
installation view, Sofia City Art Gallery
Noise Trial, 2013
action in Sofia, September 2013
The work reflects the daily demonstrations in Sofia going on for more than
three months now, and the impossibility to achive a political change. On top of
a car a monumental whistle is mounted by driving the car from the city of
Pernik to the center of Sofia on a highway, the whistle is constantly producing
an unidentifiable noise. During the demonstrations people are using whistles
amongst other noise devices in order to emphasize their discontent with the
current situation and to struggle for a social change. The performance by
Kamen Stoyanov enhances this political gesture into an absurd hypertrophic
statement.
Future Idea, 2013
air action in the sky and light installation (Christopher Columbus Blvd, Sofia)
A flying human in flex wing with motor is pulling a banner with an arrow on it
over the city of Sofia. One can also say that the arrow which represents the
idea is pushing the airplane. The two hour air action realized by Kamen
Stoyanov for “Near, Closer, Together – Exercises for a Common Ground” is a
response to the current political climate in Bulgaria. In his work, Stoyanov
criticizes the hegemonic narratives of culture manifested in the urban and the
architectural. His curiosity about the transition or passage between what is art
and what not shapes the means and gestures he chooses to create in order to
destabilize the associations and concepts of coherent cultural or- ders. The
Future Idea expresses his wish for a move beyond, for an expansion of the
horizon and a search for a direction. What looks like a line might appear as a
circle depending on where and how long you stand, in which direction and
how fast you move. According to the artist, it is a sign of hope and absurdity at
the same time. (Övül Durmusoglu)
Synchronisation, 2010
video performance, 5 min
Kamen Stoyanov uses for his action an empty billboard construction placed
next to the Sofia airport. The artist climbs on it, fixes a hammock and finally
places himself on it, replacing the missing advertisement. He takes a rest
observing the people arriving in the city. By doing so, he attracts their
attention.
Guys, this is not LA, but it is a cool place too!, 2010
lightbox, 120 x 80 cm
Self-portrait with a roll of paper, 2010
175 x 165 x 35 cm
Self-portrait with a roll of paper is an acrylic cast of the artist. The figure is
hidden behind a big empty roll of paper. Here the gesture of the medial
representation and the disappearance of the artist are melting together. The
act of holding the paper and the interminable process of the production of a
cast from a living person contrasts with the emptiness of the image.
Piece for a Chair, 2009
video, 1.40 min
Street artist? Maniac? A concept artist doing a performance with an installation
object? A street musician? Do it yourself eccentric? Some one who needs
money? Piece for a chair is another piece from an open end series of video
portraits, which shows specific working artists in the public space. Fractions in
the image of the artists and artists identities which reflects in a strange way
the legitimation of the artist and his movement in the institutional frame.
Move Your Hands, 2007
video, 5 min
The video Move your Hands shows a bulgarian woman playing a folk
instrument in front of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. The fiddling
noise, which does not really produce a melody is contrasted with the city
cleaners’ work to undo graffiti next to which the woman is sitting. With
stubbornness, the woman does not even move out of the way when the water
splashes into her direction. Instead, the noise of the instrument and the
cleaners coalesce with the static poses of the involved people.
Phantom, 2007
video, 12 min
On a black wall we see only a section of a shirt with a fly, hands and an
accordion. Just as fleeting as the sounds. like a memory that is vanishing, a
faceless person plays here. In this reduced video the fate of all street
musicians seems captured in a black space, confirming the exchangeability
of all streets.
Persona, 2008
two channel video, 80 min
Kamen Stoyanov´s videofilm Persona was shot in a cinema in Sofia in which
foreign language films are not shown dubbed or with subtitles but are
translated by a live interpreter. She sits in a cabin, watches Ingmar Bergman´s
Psychodrama „Persona“ and simultaneously interprets the dialogue. Persona
is famous for its psychological understanding of an exchange of roles. A
successful actress suddenly refuses to talk and a nurse takes care of and
entertains her. In the process the two women exchange identities: the actress
becomes the silent observer and the nurse, who is otherwise the attentive
listener, becomes the active talker. Both of them are fascinated by the
unfamiliarity and strangeness of the other. Starting from Bergman´s film,
Stoyanov shows a simultaneous translation and transfer that takes place on a
number of levels. The basis for this is a complex shift of identity, is a figure that
also appears whenever a film is viewed. One has to be in the film, to assume
the identities, in order to understand the film at all. That goes so far that
Stoyanov´s interpreter has similarities with the actress in Bergman´s film. In
addition these shifts are accentuated on the level of translation: from Swedish
into Bulgarian and the into written German and English. (Mathias Michalka)
Hello Lenin, 2003
5 c-prints, each 40 x 30 cm
The series of photographs Hello Lenin (2003) is a documentation of a
performance Kamen Stoyanov did in his hometown Rousse in Bulgaria in the
summer of 2003. It shows him climbing on an empty pedestal, whose statue
had been removed 13 years ago. Formerly, the statue of Lenin was placed
here. Stoyanov wanted to demonstrate how the statue had disappeared but
not the ideology; it has just been replaced by a new one.
Tiger Steps, installation view, MUMOK, Vienna
Tiger Steps, 2007
photographs, objects, sound
This project deals with the cafeteria and pastry shop „Tiger Steps“ in the TZUM
(Central Department Store) in Sofia. The TZUM is one of the most exclusive
shopping malls in Sofia. It is situated in the very center of the Bulgarian
capital. It has already been known a so-called shopping paradise during
socialist times. Even Sundays, one can buy goods here which cannot be
found elsewhere. The new owners of the mall built a new cafeteria and
pastry shop that displays a real tiger in a cage of glass. The female tiger
named Schakti has spent already four months of its life in here. A tiger-doll
tells this curious story of the tiger from its prospective in a very ironic way.
Objects and photographs are proof to the truthfulness of the story.
KAMEN STOYANOV
BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1977, Rousse, Bulgaria, lives and works in Vienna and Sofia.
EDUCATION
2005 MA at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
2003 MA at the National Art Academy Sofia, Bulgaria
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
Something from Nothing, Rousse Art Gallery, Rousse, Bulgaria
Stoyanov´s Tomato Products, Credo Bonum Gallery, Sofia
IT IS NOT SO HARD TO MAKE SOME ART, Inda Gallery, Budapest 2011
Impossible Stories, Jesuiten Foyer, Vienna
Fun and Struggle, Love, Vienna
Out there, 1646, Den Haag, Netherland
Bringing Cultura, Ex-garaza, Maribor, Slovenia
A small story about Cultura, 0gms Drawer Gallery, Sofia
Plaster Me, lokal_30, Warsaw
Looking for an Art Piece, Kunstverein Salzburg, Salzburg
Chinese Rap and other Stories, Inda Gallery, Budapest
At Arm's` Length, MUMOK, Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
Forget it, we can not afford this, Studio Galeria, Budapest
Just a photo, Galerie Dana Charkasi, Vienna
Places where the world breaks away, Let´s go to Giurgiu, Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, Sofia
Less Politics, Plattform, Raum für Kunst, Vienna
Bingo Topology, Kunstraum Lakeside, Klagenfurt
We are late, Webster University, Vienna
Modality, ATA Center for Contemporary Art, Sofia
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013
Unexpected Encountrers, Camera Austria, Graz, Austria
Places and Protests, Elias Canetti Association, Rousse, Bulgaria
Bulgarian Artists in Vienna. Contemporary Practices at the Beginning of the 21st Century, Sofia Art
Gallery, Sofia
Collecting Makes Friends, Le Quartier, the art center of Quimper, Bretagne, France
Phantoms & Ghosts, Das Weisse Haus, Vienna
Near, Closer, Togheter, SOFIA CONTEMPORARY, Sofia
On the suspense or how to hide a bomb under the table , Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, Sofia
The intransigent ticket- the artist as a filter , Csula Fine Arts Gallery, Los Angeles
New Opening. New Beginning, lokal_30, Warsaw
The First Ten Years Of The Lentos, Kunstmuseum Lentos, Linz, Austria
2012
AiR Ungarn 2011-2012, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna
The Keyhole of Mister Wittgenstein, Wittgenstein Haus, Vienna
Urban Dreams, Art Today Association, Center for Contemporary Art Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Material and Culture, MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles
Reactions, Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, Sofia
It isn´t in the can, Open Space, Vienna
I´d like to walk on the moon, Gallery Enrico Astuni-Bologna
Remember to remember, Arco, Madrid
Common History and Its Private Stories, Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia
Enduring Value?, Cooperation springerin, Kunshaus Bregenz, Austria
2011
and
Common Identity, Space Gallery, Bratislava
METAmART. Kunst und Kapital. Der Ausstellungsparcours , Künstlerhaus, Vienna
The 2011 Sovereign European Art Prize Finalist´s Exhibition, Haskoy Yun Iplik Fabrikasi, Istanbul
The Bulgarian Pavillion, Credo Bonum Gallery, Sofia
Unlimited, BenchMark Business Center, Sofia New York, Rio, Tokyo, Inda Gallery, Budapest Space
Odyssey, Maerz, Linz, Austria
Meet everyone at once, start an artist run space , 0gms Projects, Sofia Museums, Galleries, Homes
Other Stories, Galeria Enrico Astuni, Bologna Zonen_prekaer, Kunstsaele Berlin
Neo SI, Schattendorf, Austria
Glocal Gestures, Schmiede, Hallein, Austria
2010
17th Biennale of Sydney, Songs of survival in a precarious age, Sydney
Aichi Triennale, Nagoya, Japan
August in Art Biennal, Varna, Bulgaria
Who is your audience, Galeria Enrico Astuni, Bologna
Over the Counter. The Phenomena of Post-socialist Economy in Contemporary Art, Kunsthalle,
Budapest
Tanzimat, Augarten Contemporary, Vienna
Blickwechsel, Austrian Photography Today, Westlicht, Vienna
0gms, Whitespace gallery, Bangkok, Taiwan
Best before end, Inda Gallery, Budapest
Fluorescent Adolescent, Schunck, Heerlen, Netherland
Long time no seen - The Brno House of Art - Central Building, Brno
Persona, Institute of Contemporary Art, Sofia
Swallow it, dog, Institute of Contemporary Art Newtown, Sydney
2009
Mifan, Aniart Gallery, Beijing
Scetches for a project, lokal_30_warszawa_london_projects, London
The center of attention. Art as sociotopia, VIENNA ART WEEK 09, Radetzkystrasse 23, Vienna
ATLANTIS I, Hidden Histories – New Identities. Twenty Years After The Fall of The Berlin Wall,
REFLECTION OF TOMORROW, Art Today Association, Center for Contemporary Art Plovdiv,
Ancient Bath, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Feedback 1989 – 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall , Exhibition at Hotel Dajti, Tirana
Common History and Its Private Stories. Geschichte und Geschichten, Museum auf Abruf, Vienna
FERNE NÄHE, Zyklus 4.0, Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Mitteleuropa , Stift Lilienfeld, Austria
After Ego, Art Today Association, Center for Contemporary Art Plovdiv, Ancient Bath, Plovdiv,
Bulgaria
BAZA Award for Contemporary Art: Exhibition of the Nominee Artists, Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia
Landscape, contemporary, Haus der Fotografie - Dr. Robert-Gerlich-Museum, Burghausen,
Germany
Flavors of Austria, Taf- the Art Foundation, Athens
2008
MANIFESTA 7, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Trentino, Italy
Gyumri 6th International Biennial of Contemporary Art 2008 , GCCA - Gyumri Centre of
Contemporary Art, Armenia
Neo-SI, Galerie Tristesse, Berlin
Am Sprung, OK, Center for Contemporary Art, Linz, Austria Stay, Stay, Stay, Central Bathhouse,,
Sofia
Transfert, La BF15, Lyon
Where the east ends, Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden
OPEN SKY. Räume jenseits ihrer Praxis, Kunstverein Medienturm, Graz, Vienna
For a happier tomorrow, Gallery Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Manual CC – Instructions for Beginners and Advanced Players , Uqbar, Berlin Trespassing, Inda
Galerie, Budapest
In Passing 1, Kuenstlerhauspassage, Vienna
2007
Nightcomers Videoscreening, International Istanbul Biennale
Lange nicht gesehen. Begegnungen mit dem Museum auf Abruf, MUSA, Vienna
Multiplicities, ARC Projects, Sofia
Between Welcome and Goodbye, Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, Sofia
In Search Of Lost Time, Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia
Shrinking cities, Dauhaus, Sofia
2006
Last minute, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig
Shrinking cities, Rousse Art Gallery, Rousse, Bulgaria
Every Day, Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg
WAZZUP, Fotogalerie, Vienna
Visual immortality, 2nd International Biennial for Contemporary Art, Shumen, Bulgaria
Heute kein Evidenzproblem, Westlicht, Vienna
2005
Play Sofia, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
I can see clearly now, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna
colectionwise, Galerie 5020, Salzburg
Update, Künstlerhaus, Vienna
2004
Kunst als Fotografie, Fotografie als Kunst , Semperdepot, Vienna
Art Position, Ottakringerbrauerei, Vienna
Line/Spot, Black Dragon Society, Vienna
Reproduction without alternative, ATA Center for Contemporary Art, Sofia
The globalisation and the human , Theaterworkshops, Sofia
2003
Blut & Honig, Zukunft ist am Balkan, Essel Collection, Vienna
Mutual fields, Galerie 5020, Salzburg
Wo steht der Baum der uns trennte, off space, Vienna
2002
The Portrait, Irida gallery, Sofia
Endlich sechs und 20, Westlicht, Vienna
KUHnst, Maskfoundation, Vienna
Border Crossing Reconsidered - Beyond Hybridity, Fringe Club, Hong Kong
2001
Cartridge box, ATA Center for Contemporary Art, Sofia
Looming Up, Aspekte Galerie der Münchner Volkshochschule, Munich / Kunsthalle
Exnergasse,
Vienna
Trendification, <rotor> Association for Contemporary Art, Graz
Real Presence, Belgrade
AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, RESIDENCES
2012
2011
2009
2007
2006
2005
MAK Schindler Artists and Architects-in-Residence Program in Los Angeles
The Sovereign European Art Prize
Otto Mauer Prize
Walter Koschatzky Art Award 2010 Alexander Resnikov Award
BMUKK – Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture Scholarship , Beijing 2008
JAK (Attila Jozsef Circle), Scholarship, Budapest
Kunstpreis Europas Zukunft, Galerie für Zeitgenoessische Kunst Leipzig
Prize for Visual Arts of the City of Vienna
MUMOK Prize for the Zone1 at VIENNAFAIR
Cité Internationale des Arts, Artist in Residence Program, Paris
BMUKK – Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture Scholarship , Rome
Prize of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna