Pravdoliub Ivanov
Installation
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When Where and What Were the Same, 2018
Installation, objects, sound
Collaboration with Daniela Kostova
Detail Part of the group show “Metaphorai”
curated by Katia Anguelova & Alessandra Poggianti
Art Today Association, Center for Contemporary Art, The Ancient Bath, Plovdiv, Bulgaria -
Disciplined Joy, 2021
Site-specific Installation
Balloons, helium
Kunstraum Kesselhaus, Bamberg, Germany
Photo: Astrid Piethan -
Confusion, 2002
carpet, plastic wall skirts
dimensions variable - Loaded, 2010 dimentions variable, suitcases, intervention
- I Had an Idea, But Not That One, 2022-2023 Marble, concrete, metal, glass 61 x 80 x 120 cm
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At the Level of the Eyes, 1998
letters on the wall
dimentions variable
existing in Bulgarian and English Вземи от това изречение, колкото можеш да носиш
Take from this sentence as much as you can carry Дисциплинирана еякулация
Disciplined ejaculation Свободата ни подминава
Freedom is passing us by Природата е мазохист
Nature is a masochist Метафората е транспортна фирма
Metaphor is a haulage company Дървото на моите желания е бонзай
The tree of my desire is a bonsai Цивилизацията е навик
Civilization is a habit По-лесно е да вярваш, отколкото да работиш
It is easier to believe than to work Вие също ще умрете
You too are going to die Във Вавилон са говорили английски
They spoke English in Babylon Ако информацията е линия, тя е по-широка, отколкото дълга.
If the information is a line then it is wider than it is long Революциите започват от стомаха, познай къде свършват
Revolutions start from the stomach, guess where they end up Любовта е течност
Love is a liquid Игри, които не те изпотяват не са игри
Games that don’t make you sweat aren’t games Не чети a съзерцавай
Don’t read – contemplate И вие ли сте осъдени за същото
Have you been convicted for the same thing Изтрий след като го прочетеш
Erase after reading it Как наричате стълба без стъпала
What do you call a ladder with no steps Информацията и порока се чукат в Интернет
Information and Vice copulate on the Internet Полет над релефа на значенията
A flight over the outline of meanings Еби лидерите за да родят нови
Fuck the leaders so they breed new leaders Хаосът на желанията се подрежда от разочарованията
The chaos of desires is organised by the disappointments Мислиш ли, че 69 беше по-добра от 96
Do you think 69 was better than 96 Аз съм всеки и всеки съм аз
I’m everyone and everyone is I Трансформацията винаги отнема време и енергия
Transformation always takes time and energy Мислиш ли че си същият
Do you think you are the same Не ни забранявайте да бъдем бедни
Don’t forbid us to be poor Дебелото ми черво е черна кутия
My colon is a black box Твърде много сбъднати предчувствия
Too many premonitions come true За който се отнася не бъди толкова наивен
To whom it may concern: don’t be so naive Циничната власт на съчувствието
The cynical power of compassion Паметта е мускул
Memory is a muscle Координатите X и Y нямат брак, Z е незаконен
Coordinates X and Y are not married, Z is illegitimate -
Sensitive Monochrome, 2016-2019
bed sheets, computer fan, motion sensor
dimensions variable
unique work -
A Clockwork Sweat, 2016-2019
mixed media installation
207 x 120 x 66 cm
unique work -
The Chaos of Desires is Arranged by Disappointments, 2017
mixed media
75 x 264 x 107 cm
Courtesy: Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw -
Disconnected Memories, 2017
Wood, metal screws, 28 small photographs applied to the beams ends
375 x 410 x 355 cm
Courtesy <rotor> Center for contemporary art,
Graz, Austria -
Half Truth, 1999
two-part installation: indoors and outdoors,
various materials, dimensions and languages
Installation view Musee des Beaux Arts, La
Chaux de-Fonds, Switzerland
edition of 2 versions + 1AP for each language
edition 1/2 Deutsch version at Deutsche Telecom
Collection -
Conquerors & Conquered, 2013-2014
silk ribbons for military and sports orders
and medals
308 x 300 cm
Installation view:
Krinzinger Gallery, Vienna - Up or Down, 2015 340 x 935 x 58 cm
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Half Truth, Vienna version, 1999 - 2014
Laser cut metal on wall,
two parts
320 x 20 cm each part
unique work -
Double Ornaments, 2016
installation
cut carpet
248 x 169 cm - Hope, Hopeful, Hopefulness, 2005 manipulated traffic light, lighting only in green
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Pessimism No More, 2002 / 2004
cheese, plasters, plates, school desks and chairs
Museum of Contemporary Art-Sydney, 14th Sydney Biennial -
Territories, 1995
remade - 2003
soil, fabric, wood, metal holders
Fridericianum Museum, Kassel, Germany
collection René Block - There Are No Forbidden Thoughts, 2007 metal, electric motor, timer Watch video documentation here
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Transformation Always Takes Time And Energy, 1998
hot plates, pots, tea pots, cables, water, electricity, time
dimensions variable
edition of 4 variants
edition 1/4 – Collection ERSTE Bank -
Form-From-Form, 2012
rotation mechanism, double-sided light box, metal post
total height 460 cm
realized during Sculpture Quadrennial, Riga
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Fairy-tale Device Crashed, 2013
cut carpet, aluminum construction mounted on wall
274 x 420 x 92 cm
collection Vehbi Koç Foundation, Istanbul -
So Many Reasons…, 2004
installation
cut door and table, painted room
Installation view from Gallerie fur Zeitgenossische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany The work So Many Reasons…, 2004, was inspired from thoughts about tolerance as a mutual process. It plays with the idea that we could create common space only if we step aside and keep it for the other. In the context of an art space, the work could be read with more references as dichotomies: domestic and public, day life banality and art, accumulating home objects and sculpturing as a process of taking out the useless parts. However, the work has to be experienced by going through the door. -
Mystic Truths, 2013
intervention, pencil
dimensions variable
edition 3+2AP -
Trouble is Always Double, 1997-2015
two rods of stainless steel, two metal holders, red fabric
total size: 282 x 120 x 165 cm
Object
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Box for Banners (Fahnenkasten), 1994 -1995
an object of 4 separate panels.
Hardboard, fabric, acrylic paint,
aluminium construction on the back, 124.5 х 248 х 8 см -
The Kingdom of Wish and Waste, 2004
silicone,
60 x 400 x 60 cm -
Eternal Life, 2019
plumbing parts, sausages
122 (dt.) x 5 cm
unique work -
Robots Don’t Sweat, 2016-2019
aluminum cast
83 x 53,5 x 10 cm
unique work -
Wrinkles of Modernity, 2015
metal, acrylic glass, carpet
318 x 216 x 80 cm
Vila Empain, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels -
Trap, 2007
mouse trap, electric
bulb, holder, cable
13 x 13 x 27 cm
edition 3+2AP -
Untitled (Curly Brush), 2009
object
curled brush
34.5 x 9 x 5 cm
edition 3+2AP -
No Name, 2004
multiple, silicon, cement
13 x 17 x 30 cm
edition: 5
4 available -
After Durer, 2015
drawing
mixed technique
59 x 60 cm -
The Ladder, 2015
wood, metal
330 x 230 x 85 cm -
Childhood, 2014
20 x 10 x 60 cm without the cable
edition 2+1AP -
Memory is a Muscle, 2007
resin, silicone, polycarbonat
300 x 100 x 100 cm
52 Venice Biennial, Bulgarian Pavilion -
There Are No Perfect Games, 2008-2012
installation of modified found objects
dimensions variable - Ready-made, 1996 object
Mixed Media
Artworks with Light
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Almost Perfect Lovers, 2019
two RGB lamps, remote controlled
26 x 55 x 8 cm
edition 3+2AP -
Border by Memory, 2006
object, neon
edition 5+2AP
collection: European Investment Bank Art
Sofia City Gallery and private collections
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Border By Memory is an image of my attempt to draw the line of the 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 a clue for understanding the work and its references to the memory and history of that border and its dramatic transformation during last century, affecting many lives from both sides. -
What You See, 2013
neon mounted on metal box
100 х 100 x 11 cm
part of the project What You See is Not
What You Get
edition 3+2AP -
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
Drawing
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Few Words, 2022
colour pencil
21 x 29.7 cm - Drawings by Hand (The Image Cannot be Read), 2023 Drawings on paper various sizes and mediums
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Study for the Secret Language of a Pandemic, March-April 2020
pencil, watercolour, oil paints, pastel on thick primed cardboard
151х114 cm
Collection: DOT, Sofia -
Pessimism No More, 2002
preparatory drawing
colour pencil on paper
21 x 29.7 cm
Collection Deutsche Telekom -
Too Personal to Matter, 2013
ink on paper
140 x 110 cm
collection: Rene Block -
Self Portrait Around the Clock, 2011
pencil and watercolor on cut paper
unframed
76 x 56 cm -
Sudden Ornaments in Continuum, project, 2015
print and pencil on paper
unframed
21 x 29.7 cm -
Study of Bivalent Objects Series
Table and Wood
2016-2017
oil on paper
110 x 164 cm -
The Truth About The Truth, 2012
drawing
pencil, black ink on paper
110 x 145 cm -
Trouble is Always Double, project, 1997/2007
pencil and watercolor on paper
29.7 x 21 cm
Collection Deutsche Bank -
Load on, project, 2010
pencil and watercolor on paper
21 x 29.7 cm -
Memory is a Muscle, 2007
drawing
21 x 30 cm -
Illusion III, 2011
ink, tempera on paper
57 x 60 cm (size framed)
Photography
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James, 2010
B&W photo mounted on aluminum
53 x 80 cm James (17) – currently working as a naked model at Fine Arts Academy, Sofia. He never attended school cause of his parents (housewife and dyer) decision. He is an autodidact. James is well-versed in all school subjects. He speaks three foreign languages. It’s a pleasure to talk with him about literature, philosophy, and cinema. His hobby, recently, is computer programming. -
Existing Object XII-B, 2003
color photo
60 x 40 cm
edition 5+2AP -
From the series Non-Works
ongoing project started 2007
color photo
76 x 100 cm
edition 5+2AP -
Hand Print, 2000
two color photos
50 x 75 cm each
edition 3+1AP The refrigerator of Pravdoliub Ivanov seen in the photos was not intentionally emptied. There was almost nothing in it so the author decided to melt the ice in the fridge chamber with his own hand and made photo documentation in two steps. As matter of fact, the imprint of a human hand is one of the oldest artefacts, about 37,000 years BC. This reference is important for getting to the matter like domestic (personal, hidden) – exposed (shown, not personal), comfort – soreness (discomfort), art – non art, that the two simple snapshots tries to evoke. -
One Hour, 1996
photo installation,
photographed 60 minutes of one hour
B&W photo
20 x 20 cm each
edition 3+2AP -
From the series Non-Works
started 2007
colour photos
60 x 40 cm
edition: 10 -
From the series Non-Works
started 2007
colour photos
60 x 40 cm
edition: 10 -
From the series Non-Works
started 2007
colour photos
27 x 35 cm
edition: 10 -
Bent Figure, 1997
photo-lithography on paper
120 x 85 cm (size framed)
edition 3+1AP
edition Nbr. 3/3
Video
Site-specific
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Loop Escape, 2021
Site-specific installation
various textiles,
h-800 cm
Kunstraum Kesselhaus, Bamberg, Germany -
Everything Will Be OK In The Future, 2019
12 m metal train rails installed non paralel, Ytong aerated concrete blocks
Part of Pravdoliub Ivanov's solo show The Life of Others is Somehow Easier, 2019 in Arsenal Gallery, Bialystok, Poland
Curated by Monika Szewczyk -
3 Square Meters Cleaned Up, 1995
Site-specific intervention, Old Turkish Bathhouse, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Cleaned corner, framed title
B/W Photo, 100 x 100 cm -
Path, 2006
installation on situ
1.60 x 0.80 x 100 m, wood, nails
Darmstadt forest, Germany -
Behold, 2011
laser cut mirror letters,
Atom Bomb Shelter, Konjic, Bosnia & Herzegovina The text is placed on the staircase toward Tito’s apartment at the second floor of the bunker.
The used typeface is the same as on Yugoslav's army hand written military maps. Such maps are still on display in the atomic bomb shelter. -
The Life of Others is Somehow Easier, 2005
5 dog houses hanged on the trees in a public park,
Regensburg, Germany
Installation view and detail -
Enlightenment, 2008
wall intervention
acrylic paint
dimensions variable -
Never Enough, 2011-2013
paper stencil, spray paint
75 x 260 x 4 cm -
Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman, 2005
metal base, washbasins and buckets
1100 x 100 x 100 cm
Luxembourg, Courtesy: Casino Luxembourg - Forum d’Art Contemporain -
This is not Art…, 2011
project, site-specific, plasticine, blackwall
dimensions variable
edition 3+2AP