All artworks by Stoyan Zikov
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View allAnti Matter • 1 artwork
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About “The New World”
On the occasion of the exhibition of Stoyan Zikov in
Contrast Gallery
This is[...]
About “The New World”
On the occasion of the exhibition of Stoyan Zikov in
Contrast Gallery
This is the second exhibition of Stoyan Zikov at Gallery “Contrast” /2017/, following the “World of Angels”. His first exhibition introduced us to his still timid attempts to usher us into the explorations of the artist facing the problems of his time. In this exhibition, employing the classic techniques of ink, pen and watercolor in paintings, and acrylic in painting, Stoyan Zikov evokes thoughts about the New World – the one which is already outside science fiction books and is gradually becoming a new reality.
In the studio full of drawings, some of which we will see in the exhibition at Contrast Gallery, the artist tries, by breaking down the volumes and shapes, to suggest his plastic concept of the forthcoming changes in today's world through exquisite drawing and painting, leading us to the frugality of means of expression in Eastern calligraphy, the synthesis of haiku, and the depth of Zen philosophy. Stoyan Zikov is not solely captivated by the still insufficiently surmised general changes facing humanity. But he brings them out in three points:
- Man is already part of the cosmos, he begins to inhabit it, will he colonize it as well?
- Artificial intelligence and robotics are entering our lives, what's next?
- How far will we go with biotechnology, genetic engineering and advances in medicine?
It may seem strange to some that an exhibition raises such pretentious questions about changing the existential basis of existence we know to this day. But why not? Art has always been providential and in this sense it not only can, but must ask the question - do we approve or not, what awaits us.
This definitely conceptual exhibition of Stoyan Zikov is essential for the Path, which the artist has chosen to undertake in search of plastic means through which to visualize the excitement caused by the transformation that is coming and through which humanity must go. What will happen, walking on this exhausting path, with art, with matter? And with the spirit? It is no coincidence that he called the exhibition "Anti-matter".
Or maybe Stoyan Zikov is looking for new fulcrums upon which we can lean during the upcoming transformation? And when I think the thousands of years man has passed in his evolutionary path filled with wars, have not erased the achievement of Plato and Aristotle; that despite the technological advances made by Homo Sapiens, he has not yet found the cane upon which he can lean today, beyond the famous ancient philosophers, and he still faces the dilemma of Homo Sapiens versus Homo Sapiens, I realize the difficulty of the artist's chosen path. Walking that path, we are about to ask ourselves the question, what are we in this world for? Just for human evolution? Not at all! Is it possible we are an experiment intended to reach those who created us?
In such an exhibition do not look for a message, answers to everything that occupies Stoyan Zikov, accept it as a glove thrown by the artist, whose inner flame carries him into the field of searching and into his own self at a crucial time, facing the horizon of a New World beyond our planet. I hope the artist will not get lost along the Path, otherwise we will remain again in captivity of the Myth of the Exodus to the Promised Land.
Prof. Aksinia Dzhurova
On the occasion of the exhibition of Stoyan Zikov in
Contrast Gallery
This is the second exhibition of Stoyan Zikov at Gallery “Contrast” /2017/, following the “World of Angels”. His first exhibition introduced us to his still timid attempts to usher us into the explorations of the artist facing the problems of his time. In this exhibition, employing the classic techniques of ink, pen and watercolor in paintings, and acrylic in painting, Stoyan Zikov evokes thoughts about the New World – the one which is already outside science fiction books and is gradually becoming a new reality.
In the studio full of drawings, some of which we will see in the exhibition at Contrast Gallery, the artist tries, by breaking down the volumes and shapes, to suggest his plastic concept of the forthcoming changes in today's world through exquisite drawing and painting, leading us to the frugality of means of expression in Eastern calligraphy, the synthesis of haiku, and the depth of Zen philosophy. Stoyan Zikov is not solely captivated by the still insufficiently surmised general changes facing humanity. But he brings them out in three points:
- Man is already part of the cosmos, he begins to inhabit it, will he colonize it as well?
- Artificial intelligence and robotics are entering our lives, what's next?
- How far will we go with biotechnology, genetic engineering and advances in medicine?
It may seem strange to some that an exhibition raises such pretentious questions about changing the existential basis of existence we know to this day. But why not? Art has always been providential and in this sense it not only can, but must ask the question - do we approve or not, what awaits us.
This definitely conceptual exhibition of Stoyan Zikov is essential for the Path, which the artist has chosen to undertake in search of plastic means through which to visualize the excitement caused by the transformation that is coming and through which humanity must go. What will happen, walking on this exhausting path, with art, with matter? And with the spirit? It is no coincidence that he called the exhibition "Anti-matter".
Or maybe Stoyan Zikov is looking for new fulcrums upon which we can lean during the upcoming transformation? And when I think the thousands of years man has passed in his evolutionary path filled with wars, have not erased the achievement of Plato and Aristotle; that despite the technological advances made by Homo Sapiens, he has not yet found the cane upon which he can lean today, beyond the famous ancient philosophers, and he still faces the dilemma of Homo Sapiens versus Homo Sapiens, I realize the difficulty of the artist's chosen path. Walking that path, we are about to ask ourselves the question, what are we in this world for? Just for human evolution? Not at all! Is it possible we are an experiment intended to reach those who created us?
In such an exhibition do not look for a message, answers to everything that occupies Stoyan Zikov, accept it as a glove thrown by the artist, whose inner flame carries him into the field of searching and into his own self at a crucial time, facing the horizon of a New World beyond our planet. I hope the artist will not get lost along the Path, otherwise we will remain again in captivity of the Myth of the Exodus to the Promised Land.
Prof. Aksinia Dzhurova
One Year • 9 artworks
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One year
Art cycle uniting sculptures, paintings and drawings created within one year (2021)
As an author,[...]
One year
Art cycle uniting sculptures, paintings and drawings created within one year (2021)
As an author, I am drawn to the idea of expressing the emotion of the environment around me and the context of my existence. In the One Year cycle, one can trace precisely this creative process that took place in 2021. Some of the paintings represent the 12 months of the year. The others are individual reactions to thoughts and situations of the year and the artistic reflex provoked in me. The canvases are not illustrative, they are the result of pure emotion, a continuation of my search in the drawing. The figures carry a state of mind without imposing talkative anatomy. I create an artistic decomposition of the figurative form, turning it into a whole with the background environment together, building an object of aesthetic and philosophical value.
From a colorful point of view, each picture has its own color balance, again related to the reproduction of the emotion that I purposefully built. Mixed technique, the use of different types of paint and materials allows me to apply paint through different methods, whose consistency and individual characteristics, such as degrees of reflectivity from matte to gloss, transparency, pastiness allow me to maximize the expressive means of these visual theories. The way of applying paints and materials also varies from using different brushes, sticks, watering, spraying, using templates, etc.
There are two paintings that have a somewhat different fate, they were damaged during transport and their canvases were partially torn. For a while, I moved them from place to place, wondering if I should throw them away. One day I had already worked on all the canvases in the studio and from a purely technological point of view I had to wait at least 24 hours for them to dry so that I would not get any accidental and unwanted leakage. My eyes fell on the two torn frames and thinking about how sad their story was, I thought about those days when you get up and don't feel the day as pleasant and you have a great desire to go to bed and sleep again, but still the day goes by and you finally find out. that important or pleasant moments have happened to you and you are glad that you did not miss this day. I thought about unpleasant events in your life, for which you are currently wondering why they are happening to you and how unfair your fate is, but time passes and you realize that these moments have provoked you and led to extremely important decisions and moments. Then I decided that the fate of these paintings depended only on me and whether they would actually turn into paintings. We all know that tearing the canvas has long been foreign to art, so I started painting on canvases, thinking about how to make the tears in question an integral part of their existence, the meaning of their existence is to turn the defect into a reason to build and consciously implement context in the works.
The sculptural compositions of the cycle, despite their individuality and independence, exist creating specific interrelations and correspond both to each other and to the paintings and drawings. Like them, figurative sculptures dissolve into space, emotion and message are recreated through composition and sculptural dynamics, rhythm and pure plasticity, which I have been looking for in the last few years (since my work on World of Angels). Sculpture, which is not burdened with unnecessary volume, which builds and complements the space in which it is situated, is a theme of synthesis that has always interested me and has played a leading role in the construction of my works.
Drawings are my weakness, they are probably the purest kind of artistic thought, not a day goes by without me scratching any idea whether in a sketchbook, on a flying leaf or a napkin. Drawing has long become an independent creative discipline. Many contemporary artists express themselves mainly through it, and for me it has become the basis of my work. In the process of creating the drawings for the cycle of one year, I created hundreds of drawings, many variations of different poses, figures, animals, still lifes and landscapes. It was through the drawings that I discovered my personal affinity for the disintegration of the figurative volume and its transformation into a pure, poetic concentration, a kind of artistic, visual haiku. Mentioning haiku, I cannot deny that for these drawings I am inspired by the eastern ink drawings, the ikebana and the purity with which they convey messages.
As a conclusion to this explication, I can say that I am glad that this cycle successfully communicates with people all over the world from all continents, races and countries, for me this is a sure signal that I have touched something real and human.
Art cycle uniting sculptures, paintings and drawings created within one year (2021)
As an author, I am drawn to the idea of expressing the emotion of the environment around me and the context of my existence. In the One Year cycle, one can trace precisely this creative process that took place in 2021. Some of the paintings represent the 12 months of the year. The others are individual reactions to thoughts and situations of the year and the artistic reflex provoked in me. The canvases are not illustrative, they are the result of pure emotion, a continuation of my search in the drawing. The figures carry a state of mind without imposing talkative anatomy. I create an artistic decomposition of the figurative form, turning it into a whole with the background environment together, building an object of aesthetic and philosophical value.
From a colorful point of view, each picture has its own color balance, again related to the reproduction of the emotion that I purposefully built. Mixed technique, the use of different types of paint and materials allows me to apply paint through different methods, whose consistency and individual characteristics, such as degrees of reflectivity from matte to gloss, transparency, pastiness allow me to maximize the expressive means of these visual theories. The way of applying paints and materials also varies from using different brushes, sticks, watering, spraying, using templates, etc.
There are two paintings that have a somewhat different fate, they were damaged during transport and their canvases were partially torn. For a while, I moved them from place to place, wondering if I should throw them away. One day I had already worked on all the canvases in the studio and from a purely technological point of view I had to wait at least 24 hours for them to dry so that I would not get any accidental and unwanted leakage. My eyes fell on the two torn frames and thinking about how sad their story was, I thought about those days when you get up and don't feel the day as pleasant and you have a great desire to go to bed and sleep again, but still the day goes by and you finally find out. that important or pleasant moments have happened to you and you are glad that you did not miss this day. I thought about unpleasant events in your life, for which you are currently wondering why they are happening to you and how unfair your fate is, but time passes and you realize that these moments have provoked you and led to extremely important decisions and moments. Then I decided that the fate of these paintings depended only on me and whether they would actually turn into paintings. We all know that tearing the canvas has long been foreign to art, so I started painting on canvases, thinking about how to make the tears in question an integral part of their existence, the meaning of their existence is to turn the defect into a reason to build and consciously implement context in the works.
The sculptural compositions of the cycle, despite their individuality and independence, exist creating specific interrelations and correspond both to each other and to the paintings and drawings. Like them, figurative sculptures dissolve into space, emotion and message are recreated through composition and sculptural dynamics, rhythm and pure plasticity, which I have been looking for in the last few years (since my work on World of Angels). Sculpture, which is not burdened with unnecessary volume, which builds and complements the space in which it is situated, is a theme of synthesis that has always interested me and has played a leading role in the construction of my works.
Drawings are my weakness, they are probably the purest kind of artistic thought, not a day goes by without me scratching any idea whether in a sketchbook, on a flying leaf or a napkin. Drawing has long become an independent creative discipline. Many contemporary artists express themselves mainly through it, and for me it has become the basis of my work. In the process of creating the drawings for the cycle of one year, I created hundreds of drawings, many variations of different poses, figures, animals, still lifes and landscapes. It was through the drawings that I discovered my personal affinity for the disintegration of the figurative volume and its transformation into a pure, poetic concentration, a kind of artistic, visual haiku. Mentioning haiku, I cannot deny that for these drawings I am inspired by the eastern ink drawings, the ikebana and the purity with which they convey messages.
As a conclusion to this explication, I can say that I am glad that this cycle successfully communicates with people all over the world from all continents, races and countries, for me this is a sure signal that I have touched something real and human.
World of angels • 8 artworks
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"World of Angels" is an exhibition that combines my artistic quests into painting, sculpture and drawing[...]
"World of Angels" is an exhibition that combines my artistic quests into painting, sculpture and drawing at the same time, creating a space in which angels are sculptural and physical incarnations of feelings and experiences. They recreate my own internal state by showing the world not as I see it, but as I feel it.
My work on the “Angels” cycle is inspired by а childhood memory of mine. ). I was about six years old when during an early spring, and while the snow had not yet melted, me and my family were spending the holiday in Bistritsa. The village is huddled up in the mountain, right next to the forest and before the urbanization, it was very common for wild animals to come down, looking for food. Then, for the first time, I saw deers and even managed to caress one of them. There were about seven deers and the scenery was highly influential. One of the things that made me very impressed was that during this time of the year the horns of the young deers are covered with moss that gave their horns a delusive softness. In a certain moment there was an undefined noise, and the whole herd disappeared into the woods in seconds. This memory was imprinted in my mind as a miracle I had lived through. This is why I call my compositions "Angels".
One of the biggest difficulties I faced was materializing the feeling, the emotion... trying to turn the intangible
into material. This was a major creative issue I set myself up to resolve.
I have always understood art as a scientific process in which the artist is a researcher who is experimenting, analyzing results and trying to present, let me call it “theorems for creative problems". In this case, I can say that "World of Angels" has been able to bring out some interesting principles that I will further develop in the future, but which have reached the stage where I can display the creative decisions made so far.
My work has always been going in parallel in sculpture, painting and graphic drawings, so I decided that if I really want to present this world, it is most appropriate to do it in precisely these three dimensions.
There is another key issue for which I have tried to present a creative solution. This is the choice of materials I used for the paintings. I found it interesting to try to use the classic oil technique on а canvas but creating conceptual and contemporary works. I believe that it is the classical technique and materials that make the search for an otherwise perplexed creative problem understandable.
In the paintings and the sculptures from the exhibition I am not trying to create some kind of a fictional world, it is our world, the one we live in everyday, I just removed everything unnecessary and left the essence, such as I understand it as important and valuable. Many people are trying to define what I do as “surrealism", something I can not agree with. There is nothing irrational or metaphysical in my paintings and sculptures. Physics, light and spaces are completely natural, cleared of unnecessary talkativeness, of change of focus.
I opine that art is a portal to the potentials for access to the depths of the model of existence, vast and different for everyone. It is for this reason I believe art is not exhausted in terms of forms and quests, but is yet to develop and to go deeper into the matters. To say that art is exhausted is like accepting that science has reached its limit.
My work on the “Angels” cycle is inspired by а childhood memory of mine. ). I was about six years old when during an early spring, and while the snow had not yet melted, me and my family were spending the holiday in Bistritsa. The village is huddled up in the mountain, right next to the forest and before the urbanization, it was very common for wild animals to come down, looking for food. Then, for the first time, I saw deers and even managed to caress one of them. There were about seven deers and the scenery was highly influential. One of the things that made me very impressed was that during this time of the year the horns of the young deers are covered with moss that gave their horns a delusive softness. In a certain moment there was an undefined noise, and the whole herd disappeared into the woods in seconds. This memory was imprinted in my mind as a miracle I had lived through. This is why I call my compositions "Angels".
One of the biggest difficulties I faced was materializing the feeling, the emotion... trying to turn the intangible
into material. This was a major creative issue I set myself up to resolve.
I have always understood art as a scientific process in which the artist is a researcher who is experimenting, analyzing results and trying to present, let me call it “theorems for creative problems". In this case, I can say that "World of Angels" has been able to bring out some interesting principles that I will further develop in the future, but which have reached the stage where I can display the creative decisions made so far.
My work has always been going in parallel in sculpture, painting and graphic drawings, so I decided that if I really want to present this world, it is most appropriate to do it in precisely these three dimensions.
There is another key issue for which I have tried to present a creative solution. This is the choice of materials I used for the paintings. I found it interesting to try to use the classic oil technique on а canvas but creating conceptual and contemporary works. I believe that it is the classical technique and materials that make the search for an otherwise perplexed creative problem understandable.
In the paintings and the sculptures from the exhibition I am not trying to create some kind of a fictional world, it is our world, the one we live in everyday, I just removed everything unnecessary and left the essence, such as I understand it as important and valuable. Many people are trying to define what I do as “surrealism", something I can not agree with. There is nothing irrational or metaphysical in my paintings and sculptures. Physics, light and spaces are completely natural, cleared of unnecessary talkativeness, of change of focus.
I opine that art is a portal to the potentials for access to the depths of the model of existence, vast and different for everyone. It is for this reason I believe art is not exhausted in terms of forms and quests, but is yet to develop and to go deeper into the matters. To say that art is exhausted is like accepting that science has reached its limit.
Sold Artworks • 6 artworks
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