Plamen Dejanoff
01 Nov - 06 Dec 2008
PLAMEN DEJANOFF
“The State of Selective Memory”
1 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2008
Opening: 31 October 2008, 6pm - 9pm
Gallery Nicola von Senger is pleased to present Plamen Dejanoff in a
solo exhibition, “The State of Selective Memory.” Dejanoff, (born in Sofia in
1970, lives and works in Vienna), uses his complex works to examine the tenets
of consumption and greed, the market and marketing and the role of the artist
in today’s commercial society. One-man shows at MUMOK, Museum Moderner Kunst
Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna (2006), at MSU Museum Moderner Kunst in Zagreb
(2005) and at Palais of Tokyo in Paris (2002) as well as group shows at the
Shanghai Biennale (2006), Galeria d’Arte Moderna in Bologna (2005), Berlin
Biennale (2003) Deichtorhallen in Hamburg (2002) and Mass MoCA in
Massachusetts (2002) have already brought Dejanoff an international audience.
Dejanoff works primarily with room installations in which he uses
sculptural gestures to turn precious materials into familiar yet somewhat
transformed objects. This transformation paves the way for a new
interpretation and new meaning and spurs the onlooker into self-reflection.
Identity and transformation are recurring themes in Dejanoff’s work. The
identical “cookie-cutter” copy or the individualistic, Dejanoff questions and
disputes his own identity as well as that of the observer. Subsequently brand
names and market niches also occupy the artist who uses his own name as a
“brand” making it a component of his own artistic positioning.
The “State of Selective Memory” is composed of a series of four
portraits representing the artist, his wife, the gallery owner and the gallery
owner’s daughter. Based on photographic models which are then cast in Venetian
Murano glass, the portraits, though still recognizable are flat and
abstracted. Fragile and translucent, these portraits take on the quality of a
window display and are presented to us like merchandise samples. Dejanoff
invites the observer, the gallery visitor and the collector to order their own
custom made portrait and thus to immortalize themselves and, as the case may
be, to start or continue their own ancestral portrait gallery. Dejanoff’s
provocative offer of “painting on demand” makes reference to the historical
artists’ guilds and workshops producing works in accordance with patrons’
commissions. However Dejanoff also confronts the problematic role of the
artist in today’s society. Caught between genius and commodity is the artist
not ultimately a manufacturer working in conformity with the current
marketplace?
Forty model cars made of cast and polished crystal and placed on a
mirrored pedestal comprise the work, “All the cars that would suit me”. The
automobile and its components are the strongest and perhaps the most
prototypic identifying marks of our society. Thus this work too, can be
interpreted as an expansion and variation on the theme of identity. These
crystal cars, transparent and interspersed with reflections, constitute an
image or sketch of Dejanoff’s personal and artistic identity. Despite the
recurring critical jabs apparent in his work, Dejanoff takes a very positive
stance technically. On the one hand, Dejanoff’s work can be regarded as a
continuation of the approaches taken by Warhol and Jeff Koons. Through the
materials he uses and the perfection in craftsmanship he attains, Dejanoff
follows in the tradition of Constantin Brancusi.
“Pinocchio” (2008), produced in the traditional sculptural materials
wood and bronze, presents the puppet from the children’s fairytale who just
wants to be a real boy. Standing directly on the floor without a pedestal and
thus virtually positioned in “life”, this work analyzes the Pygmalion myth of
the artist as creator and the artwork possessing a life of its own. Yet what
role do lies play in this totality of covetousness and self assurance?
Plamen Dejanoff is aware of the historical depth of his work and
demonstrates that scrutiny and criticism of the art market mechanism have a
place and a purpose precisely in today’s world. Though critical, Dejanoff is
not negative. He infuses his works with the allure of the precious and pretty
and invites us with a childlike fascination to take delight in the beautiful.
Stefan Ege, October 2008, Translation: Elaine Vogel Keller
“The State of Selective Memory”
1 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2008
Opening: 31 October 2008, 6pm - 9pm
Gallery Nicola von Senger is pleased to present Plamen Dejanoff in a
solo exhibition, “The State of Selective Memory.” Dejanoff, (born in Sofia in
1970, lives and works in Vienna), uses his complex works to examine the tenets
of consumption and greed, the market and marketing and the role of the artist
in today’s commercial society. One-man shows at MUMOK, Museum Moderner Kunst
Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna (2006), at MSU Museum Moderner Kunst in Zagreb
(2005) and at Palais of Tokyo in Paris (2002) as well as group shows at the
Shanghai Biennale (2006), Galeria d’Arte Moderna in Bologna (2005), Berlin
Biennale (2003) Deichtorhallen in Hamburg (2002) and Mass MoCA in
Massachusetts (2002) have already brought Dejanoff an international audience.
Dejanoff works primarily with room installations in which he uses
sculptural gestures to turn precious materials into familiar yet somewhat
transformed objects. This transformation paves the way for a new
interpretation and new meaning and spurs the onlooker into self-reflection.
Identity and transformation are recurring themes in Dejanoff’s work. The
identical “cookie-cutter” copy or the individualistic, Dejanoff questions and
disputes his own identity as well as that of the observer. Subsequently brand
names and market niches also occupy the artist who uses his own name as a
“brand” making it a component of his own artistic positioning.
The “State of Selective Memory” is composed of a series of four
portraits representing the artist, his wife, the gallery owner and the gallery
owner’s daughter. Based on photographic models which are then cast in Venetian
Murano glass, the portraits, though still recognizable are flat and
abstracted. Fragile and translucent, these portraits take on the quality of a
window display and are presented to us like merchandise samples. Dejanoff
invites the observer, the gallery visitor and the collector to order their own
custom made portrait and thus to immortalize themselves and, as the case may
be, to start or continue their own ancestral portrait gallery. Dejanoff’s
provocative offer of “painting on demand” makes reference to the historical
artists’ guilds and workshops producing works in accordance with patrons’
commissions. However Dejanoff also confronts the problematic role of the
artist in today’s society. Caught between genius and commodity is the artist
not ultimately a manufacturer working in conformity with the current
marketplace?
Forty model cars made of cast and polished crystal and placed on a
mirrored pedestal comprise the work, “All the cars that would suit me”. The
automobile and its components are the strongest and perhaps the most
prototypic identifying marks of our society. Thus this work too, can be
interpreted as an expansion and variation on the theme of identity. These
crystal cars, transparent and interspersed with reflections, constitute an
image or sketch of Dejanoff’s personal and artistic identity. Despite the
recurring critical jabs apparent in his work, Dejanoff takes a very positive
stance technically. On the one hand, Dejanoff’s work can be regarded as a
continuation of the approaches taken by Warhol and Jeff Koons. Through the
materials he uses and the perfection in craftsmanship he attains, Dejanoff
follows in the tradition of Constantin Brancusi.
“Pinocchio” (2008), produced in the traditional sculptural materials
wood and bronze, presents the puppet from the children’s fairytale who just
wants to be a real boy. Standing directly on the floor without a pedestal and
thus virtually positioned in “life”, this work analyzes the Pygmalion myth of
the artist as creator and the artwork possessing a life of its own. Yet what
role do lies play in this totality of covetousness and self assurance?
Plamen Dejanoff is aware of the historical depth of his work and
demonstrates that scrutiny and criticism of the art market mechanism have a
place and a purpose precisely in today’s world. Though critical, Dejanoff is
not negative. He infuses his works with the allure of the precious and pretty
and invites us with a childlike fascination to take delight in the beautiful.
Stefan Ege, October 2008, Translation: Elaine Vogel Keller