Nedko Solakov's performance ‘A Life (Black & White)’ at Tate Modern and Studio Visit video by TateShots

Sariev Gallery is pleased to share with you the latest news around our represented artist Nedko Solakov.

Nedko Solakov is featured at Tate Modern with his performance work ‘A Life (Black & White)’ at ‘Performer and Participant’ exhibition, curated by Tamsin Hong.
‘In Nedko Solakov’s performance work A Life (Black & White), two workers continuously paint the gallery walls. One uses black paint and the other uses white.  
The painters follow each other around the space, painting over each other’s work. This is constantly repeated for the length of time the work is on display. The materials used in the performance are also laid out in the space. These include tins of paint, rollers, rags and signs for the painters’ breaks.
In A Life (Black & White), Solakov is exploring issues about work, labour, time and repetition. The piece also comments on the process of making a painting, but here the paint is applied directly onto the gallery wall instead of a canvas.’

On occasion of the show TateShots team met up with Nedko Solakov in Sofia and dedicated TateShots video to him. The artist took them to his studios and the art academy where he studied mural painting. In the video he is sharing what his working rituals are and many more interesting details about his personality, his life and work, like taking control of things, being superstitious, etc.

Tate began collecting performance over a decade ago in response to the growing number of artists that were creating live art.
In 2017, Sariev Gallery together with Open Arts Foundation invited Isabella Maidment, Tate curator, to give a lecture within the Introduction to Contemporary Art on the topic ‘Going Live: Presenting and Collecting Performance’ at Tate Modern. Watch the lecture here.

Nedko Solakov’s performance piece, ‘A Life (Black & White)’ will be on display at Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG 3 February – 1 March 2020 and can be visited daily.

Watch the TateShots video with Nedko Solakov here.