Simeon Stoilov

Selected workS 2011/2007

The project cancels the analog landscape with a simple digital inter-vention as the viewer is left with the feeling of infinite space with no identity. The project “Faraway, So Close!” materializes the paradox from the memory of experiences that we can not return with perfect accuracy in our minds. Residual deposits without actual forms, born from staring at the horizon line until it ceases to exist. Ephemeral game of memories, senses and perceptions.

“FaRaway, So CloSE!”

2011 all works are digital pigment print on 100% cotton paper. a batch of 6. 61 x 86 cm/24 x 33.8/ in

“Zhuang TZE iS dEad” work is instigated by an existing inscrip-tion in an exhibition space in Sofia, whose owner stubbornly refuses to erase, oblivious of the fact that the words, with their prominent form and demand participate and influence each and every piece of work. Those words are either badly manipulated or poorly interpreted and thus entirely change the philosopher’s view. with each exhibi-tion the viewer is left wondering and searching for the connection between the gigantic epigraph and the pieces of art exposed, where such, of course is nonexistent. The author succumbs to the notion by interpreting the Buddhist principle “change through acceptance”. he creates digital works that mimic the ancient Chinese paintings and counteract with the inscription’s idea, and exposes them right next to text on the wall, itself. what results in a work of untruthfulness is complemented in an absurd manner by the cobwebs in the corner of the gallery, relentlessly reminding of those in ancient Chinese tombs. Zhuang TZE iS dEad.

Text on the wall:

“Those who use machines, mechanichally deal with their lives. Those whose deals are mechanical become mechanicanically hearted. Those with mechanic hearts in their chests lose the entirety of the pure sim-plicity. Those who lose the entirety of the pure simplicity, will not fit the life of reason. Those who are unfit for the life of rason, will not follow the way.”

The orginal text

“... those who have cunning implements are cunning in their dealings and that those who are cunning in their dealings have cunning in their hearts, and that those who have cunning in their hearts cannot be pure and incorrupt, and that those who are not pure and incorrupt are rest-less in spirit and not fit vehicles for TAO.”

Zhuang TZE iS dEad2011 digital print on cotton rag papervariable dimentionssize of prints60 x 130 cm /24 x 51/ in

aPoPhiS

2011

polyester resin, aluminum, polycarbonate, lEd lighting

400 x 40 x 28 cm

/157 x 16 x 11/ in

in ancient Egyptian mythology, apep (apophis in greek) was a demon that symbolised the chaos of the underworld. in the cosmology of the ancient Egyptians, apep, usually depicted as a coiled snake, was the archenemy of the solar deity, Ra. according to the myth, each day at sunset Ra was battling with apep below the horizon, struggling to rise again. The ancient Egyptians attributed some adverse natural phenom-ena to apep’s getting the upper hand.in 2004 the asteroid 99942 was given the name apophis. its orbit courses very near the Earth, and there’s a probability that the two may collide in the next 30 years.The serpent woven out of wolves’ skulls brings together the myth, the threat and the universal metaphor for human relationships. in the context of the current political developments in the arab world, this sculptural object acquires also a prophetic meaning.

FREEdoM iS noT FoR EVERyonE

2011

object, plywood

450 x 150 x 100

/157 x 16 x 11/ in

Simeon Stoilov has reconstructed the skeleton of an indian Elephant owned by the national Museum of natural history. The posture, how-ever, is changed, and the elephant stands erect as if it were a human being. Thus, using artistic means, Stoilov sought the most compelling way of expressing a symbiosis between science and mythology.The artwork seeks to expand knowledge and to offer an unusual ap-proach to the stereotypes of daily life. The focus is the myth, but seen in a generalized, metaphorical sense that invariably includes the nev-er-ending questioning of the rational mind.The Cyclops is a creature known from the greek mythology (from greek round-eyed: κύκλος – round and όψ – eye). it is a huge hu-manoid monster whose only one eye is located in the middle of the forehead. Cyclopes are rude and uncouth beings who are also skilful blacksmiths.The myth can perhaps be put down to antetypes from the distant past and the surreal interpretation that the ancients gave them. in the ice age, up to 10,000 years ago, ancient elephants, whose species is now extinct, used to live in Europe, including in the Balkans and on the aegean islands. it seems that their fossilized remains used to at once greatly disturb and awe the people who lived in these lands in an-tiquity. They tried to identify these creatures and rationalize them according to their own cognitive powers and level of civilization: one has no way of imagining an elephant unless one knows what an el-ephant looks like. The elephant’s skull is rounded as that of a human being, its orbits have moved aside without leaving an impression, and the nasal aperture resembles an eye orbit. driven by a desire to pro-duce an adequate image of the creature with giant bones and a curious skull resembling that of a human being, they came up with the idea of a boorish, one-eyed giant, Cyclops, and then started collecting the story of its origin.it is this story and the human proclivity to process reality by means of a mind-set formed out of preset norms and restrictions that attract the interests of the artist.

CyCloPS

2010

Exposed in national Museum of natural history

authentic elephant skelleton-1950’s, steel rope, stones

400 x 300 x 300 cm

/157 x 118 x 118/ in

Simeon Stoilov’s domains are space and architecture. objects get transformed in his work, in terms of situation as well as use. his technique is to employ assorted industrial and paleontological forms and objects and convert them into new settings and meanings that ad-dress man’s personal experiences, the modern confusion, illusions and reality. in grey Clouds, his latest work, Simeon Stoilov changed the physicality and the meaning of a group of industrial reservoirs used at wastewater treatment stations.

grey Clouds is a homage to andy warhol and a reply to his 1966 in-stallation Silver Clouds. its meaning stems from the blend of engi-neering knowledge and artistic vision for the world, which underlay also warhol’s idea. For his work, warhol collaborated with Bell labs, which acquainted him with new technologies that he used to create the bracing Pop atmosphere of his silver cushions floating in midair.

Simeon Stoilov’s piece, however, presents a much more dramatic con-temporary opposite. The heavy, bulky reservoirs rise in the air as the literal materialization of the environmental threat we live in. despite the fact that they “float” poetically some metres off the ground, they remain ugly, angular, even fearsome, as if belonging to the landscape of a mirthless futuristic planet.

gRay CloudS

2010

reservoirs for waste water, steel rope

variable dimentions

CyCloPS

2010

exposed in “Rayko alexsiev” gallery

authentic elephant skelleton-1950’s,

steel construction, steel rope

400 x 300 x 300 cm

/157 x 118 x 118/ in

knoT/i haTE you

2010

two steel chains

100 x 80 cm

/39 x 31/ in

lEThal BEauTy/CanCER CEll

2010

oil on canvas

300 x 500 cm

/118 x 195/ in

how annihilating and sinister beauty can be? Something that, at first, offers nothing more than curiosity and attractiveness can turn out to be an insidious trap for the psyche. in a grand and spectacular way that resembles that of a comet passing through the night sky, Simeon Stoilov (b. 1971) has used the kind of beauty that prompts exclama-tions and rapture.But the initial fascination is quickly replaced by shock, even disgust, once you realise that, having gone to great pains, the artist has immor-talised a cancer cell. Beauty, for which one opens one’s senses unques-tioningly, turns out to be a degenerate and dangerous imperfection. Just like kitsch and its enticing way of subverting taste.Things, however, change when kitsch’s truest symbols have grown to intimidating proportions. it is the moment when they become really beautiful.

TakE a Bow

2010

aluminium

360 x 360 x 80 cm

/141 x 141 x 32/ in

SoME ThingS aRE MoRE PRECiouS Than oThER

2009

silver, water, glass jar

10 x 10 x 12 cm

/4 x 4 x 3.2/ in

hoPE - “laSCiaTE ogni SPERanZa, Voi Ch’inTRaTE” /aBandon all hoPE, yE who EnTER hERE/

2009

emergency show sihn lamp, light reflecting foil on wall

variable dimentions

a narrow, dark space lit by a red signal lamp that at each turn lights, letter by letter, the following inscription: “abandon all hope, ye who enter here”. This phrase by dante alighieri has been used here as a pun charged with complex philo-sophical and historical meaning hinting at the atmosphere and the suggestion of the whole installation. it visualizes the end of hope, and its dramatic political meaning is clearly visible at first glance, but it also refers to a real hope made of metal. The installation is a monument to a submarine that has incidentally become a symbol of several decades of Bulgar-ian history filled with political events.Sent to Bulgaria as a gift from uSSR in the years of unshadowed brotherhood between the two countries, the submarine was named dimitrov’s komsomol. after 1989 its origine and history were erased by an act of change, universal but quite problematic in itself - renaming. The submarine was called hope and spent a decade anchored up at the port of Varna desintegrating, completely useless, a symbol of Bulgarian democracy itself. at the end of the 90s hope was sent to scrap pile. This put an end to the story of a heavy and rusty legacy which, unfortunately, almost unnoticeably put an end to the hopes of a deceived society.

FRagilE/dEFECTiVE hEaRTS

2009

resin, mirror, chipboard, plexiglass

38 x 38 x 76 cm

/15 x 15 x 30/ in

you will REMEMBER ME, i will REMEMBER you

2009

object and hd - video

wood, vinil mesh,

variable dimentions

unTiTlEd/ all oF ME

2009

hd - video

0:41 min

iConoSTaSiS

2009

wood frames, light,

blue filter, laceworks,

rice paper, sacred space

300 x 500 cm

/118 x 196 in/

hall PaRakliSa

national art gallery, Sofia

iConoSTaSiS - installation view

The exhibition of Simeon Stoilov’s installation iconostasis at Parak-lisa hall, national art gallery, is in a way predefined, if we take into consideration the latest years’ tendencies in his works. his interest in and focus on artistic decisions deriving from the notional and plastic relationship between a work and its environment place him among the artists who have accepted the challenges of such an active and specific exhibition space as this hall. actually, Paraklisa is a space that has once been a functioning Christian temple dully adorned ac-cording to the cultural and canonical requirements at the time. The workings of time are most visible in such places, and its present ar-chitectural look bears marks of relentless destruction, but also has the charm of an ancient monument, injured but not destroyed. it strongly affects the senses even without the presence of any works of art in it. This is the main difficulty that the space presents at any artistic inter-vention, but Simeon Stoilov is the first artist to solve the problem in advance. he builds an iconostasis and, purely symbolically, does not “interrupt” but seeks or finishes, or recreates the previously existing integrity of functionality and volume. Strictly speaking, the instal-lation “restores” the iconostasis as a sacral object dividing the space into areas that are different in its importance and substance and, in terms of spatial symbolism, revives the temple. it takes the place of something that has disappeared. But there is a tiny, delicate, though important difference: the new structure is ephemeral, bright and airy, ghostly, virtual. Simeon Stoilov weaves his iconostasis out of a spider web made of light and shadow, of reflections and beams of brightness, of enlarged projections of forms that obey the logic of another lan-guage. in other words, there is also transformation. That is where the installation becomes substantial, which surpasses the mere process of “restoration”. The iconostasis has taken its place, but it is not there as a heavy piece of wood and stone-carved, gold-gilded material; it glows in the dark like a ghost but the bright light of everyday existence makes it bleak; it is a longing that floods back with memories; an ideal to which we can only aspire but never attain.This synthetic method and plastic decision bring in something else that is a rare appearance in any installation approach, at least among the contemporary Bulgarian artists, which is the overcoming of nar-rativeness. we have been accustomed to “read” installations which, for the most part, could be qualified as students’ retellings of classic works. in this case, however, iconostasis affects mostly the viewer’s sensitive and emotional mindset, i.e. the classic form of perception in arts. it has a particular impact – a kind of nostalgia for something irrevocably lost and the irony of its replacement with the virtual real-ity of today. There is much to think about while looking at Simeon Stoilov’s iconostasis.

The action is based on a video called unTiTlEd/all oF ME. The author invites the spectators to repeat his moves in the video and to draw an empty circumference on a wall that has been prepared for the purpose. The result he seeks is a composition of a multitude of differ-ent circumferences that intercect, cut each other, move in an unpre-dictable rhythm. Thus art-making becomes a public, all-accessible act, with the artist communicating in a most direct way with his audience asking it to participate in his own experience. The various circumfer-ences are also signs left by unique individuals and characters. united in this one work of art, they become a group portrait of the audience and the enthusiasts who would dare to participate. all of this has been documented in a video.

unTiTlEd/ all oF you

2009

black and white video

11.20 min

ink drawing on paper

200 x 200 cm

/79 x 79/ in

interactive action in national art gallery, Sofia

looking FoR a Man

2009

fog mashine, fog,

variable dimentions

looking for a Man provokes the primal senses and opens them to the environment. By a delicate and intangible interven-tion the artist changes the parameters of the environment leaving the viewers feeling their way, searching for the borders of this uncertainty, searching for an object, for support, for a light or, in fact, searching for themselves.

with each work Simeon Stoilov enters into dialogue with a particular space. in this case he abandons the usual strategy and instead of a site-specific object he rather inserts new parameters into the space. The artist retouches its real scale to turn it into a metaphor of the most basic existential fears, of the constant dilemmas and the moments when we move blindly through life, our motives and purpose lost.

now it’s not the work but the viewer who has to adapt to the environment. The viewer is actually a contributor into this art and also its important component. The artist’s job here is to create a most ephemeral and intangible experience that literally clings to everyone who walks inside. now the choice is to either run away or seek and find. what is important is the ability to communicate with art and to find the right code for this communication. here one has to rely not upon their senses but upon their emotion and intuition.

liFE iS liES

2009

light reflecting foil on wall, day light

150 x 400 cm

/60 x 157 in/

The artist’s assertion here can be interpreted as a contemporary, postmodern translation of Ecclesiastes who challenges the very meaning of existence opposing it to the inevitable end: Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. These words from the old Testament book are in fact an appeal to everyone to make the most of the opportunities that life presents, sparing no effort, to ensure a better future. The meaning, although transformed by the changed conditions, sounds just like that 80s hit, live is life, only without the upbeat optimism.

The text is visualized by means of light-reflecting foil that enhances the inscription’s meaning as a response to our environ-ment. The surrounding spotlights are the only source of light that make it possible for the viewer to read the message as a short moment of revelation. Even the font style is typical of the contemporary digital media, slightly retro, a reminder of the 80s. The dashed lines of the letters have already become a symbol of today’s pop-culture.

There is hardly a better environment for such a text than a party. in this case the symbiosis between ancient and modern times is most effective within the specific environment of a musical event.

iRREVERSiBlE

2008

sticker on concrete

380 x 340 cm

/150 x 134 in/

iSolaToR

2008

expanded polystyrene, 35 blocks

800 x 550 cm

/315 x 217 in/

The artist has installed a large structure made of polystyrene. From the outside, this huge white object has an open structure that interacts with the gallery’s space spreading out seven rays. From the inside, it is a calm and smooth asylum.

Simeon Stoilov has built the installation from the floor up to the ceil-ing leaving one discreet opening that makes the magical space inside available to everyone.

The symbolism of the number seven is very rich and gives the whole structure a cosmic and mysterious meaning that can be perceived in many different ways. First of all is the desire to hide from the noise of everyday life inside the isolator’s thick silence. it gives the viewer a unique opportunity to meditate through art and a chance to recon-sider man’s alienation within the modern society as a personal choice.

The seven rays made of polystyrene open outwards and “twirl” all the energy and mysticism they carry into one general centrifugal motion that keeps the isolator’s calm inside of it.

The isolator is a reaction to the need for safety and securety. Standing at the centre as a huge monument of seclusion, it attracts irresistibly and welcomes everyone inside its silence.

iSolaToR - inside view

iSolaToR - process ii

unidETiFiEd idEnTiTy

2008

objects, mirrors

40 x 40 x 40 cm - each

|15.8 x 15.8 x 15.8 in|

iSolaToR

2007

expanded polystyrene, 28 blocks

800 x 450 cm

|171 x 314 in|

lighTCaTChER

2007

mirrors

/site specific/

variable dimensions

lighTCaTChER - the last mirror

CoMMuniCaTion anglE

2007

metal, mirrors

100 x 200 x 200 cm

|39.5 x 79 x 79 in|

BioS

Born in 1971 in yambol, BulgaRiagraduate of the national academy of arts, Sofia in “Painting”,

awaRdS:

2008 - M–tel Contemporary art Prize2005 - “SlaVEna” award for best exhibition of young authors of the year2002 - 1st Prize at the “St.Cyril and Methodius Foundation” national Competition for young artists and Critics 2001 - awarded with a prize from the national Competition for works of art on a wall1994 - 1st Prize for high academic achievements, Scholarship of the Soros Foundation1989 - 1st Prize at the Bicentenary of the French Revolution Competition

SElECTEd indiVidual ShowS:

2011 - “Faraway, So Close!”, Rakursi gallery, Sofiq2010 - CyCloPS, national Museum of natural history, Sofia2010 - gREy CloudS, industrialna gallery, Sofia2010 - looking FoR a Man, The fridge, Sofia2010 - hoPE, Bulart art gallery, Varna2009 - all oF ME/all oF you, BkC, Berlin2009 - looking FoR a Man, Sariev gallery, Plovdiv2009 - unTiTlEd/all oF you, interactive action in national art gallery, Sofia2009 - iconostasis, national art gallery, Sofia2009 - looking FoR a Man, Center for Contemporary art - Plovdiv /bi/2009 - liFE iS liES, Center for Contemporary art - Plovdiv /bi/ 2008 - unidEnTiFiEd idEnTiTy, georgi Velchev art Museum, Varna2007 - iSolaToR, Rayko alexiev art gallery, Sofia2007 - inFiniTy, Bulart art gallery, Varna2006 - inFiniTy, Eibank art gallery, Sofia2004 - wiThin, krug + art gallery, Sofia2003 - iSland, Rayko alexiev art gallery, Sofia2003 - iSland, Canko lavrenov art gallery, Plovdiv

SElECTEd gRouP ShowS:

2011 - exi[s]t>15 bulart, Bulart art gallery, Varna2011 - SPaRE TiME… uToPiaS on ThE VERgE oF CoMMonnESS national gallery for foreign art, Sofia /Curator: Boris danailov/2011 - The big Bang, Credo Bonum gallery, Sofia /Curator: Svetlana kuyumdzhieva/2010 - “Shortlist” 2010 ©, gaudenz B. RuF award for new Bulgarian art, Rayko alexiev art gallery, Sofia2010 - The Bold & The Beautiful, Rayko alexiev art gallery, Sofia/Curator: Svetlana kuyumdzhieva/2010 - haiku spaces, krug + art gallery, Sofia /Curator: krasimir iliev/2009 - Reflections of Tomorrow, Center for Contemporary art - PlovdivThe ancient Bath, /Curator: Emil Mirazchiev, co-curator: Jakob Racek/2009 - “RESET” - with Bora Petkova and ivo Bistrichki, Sariev gallery, Plovdiv2009 - “Born indipendent”, Shipka – 6 art gallery, Sofia2009 - “wenn werte Form werden” - goethe-institut Bulgarien /anti-curator Stefan Bohnenberger/2008 - annual nominations for the M–tel Contemporary art Prize ©, Plovdiv

2007 - “The fifth edition of the national competition for young artists, critics and curators” ©, national gallery for Foreign art2007 - “Shortlist” 2007 ©, gaudenz B. RuF award for new Bulgarian art, Sofia City art gal-lery2007 - “Visual immortality”, h95 gallery, Basel, Switzerland2007/2006 - “Plastic/conceptual” ©narodne osvetove Centrum, Bratislava, Slovakiahoffburg, innsbruck, austriaPalace Porcia, Vienna, austriaMuseum Termen an Viehmarkt, Trier, germanygallery daP, warsaw, Poland,Cultural Center Babel, utrecht, The netherlandscurators /Chavdar Popov and iskra Traianova/2006 - “Sign and gesture”, festival “august in art”, Varna /curator iskra Traianova/2006 - “Sea|shore” ©, Burgas /curator ivo Bistrichki/2006 - annual nominations for the M–tel Contemporary art Prize ©, Shipka – 6 art gallery, Sofia2006 - “Visual immortality”, Biennale Shoumen curators /Peter Canev and Elena Panaiotova/2005 - “Personal Mythologies”, Shipka – 6 art gallery, Sofia2004 - “Social/Poetics reality”, Shipka – 6 art gallery, Sofia2003 - “+ – Painting” in “10*5*3” Sofia, Shipka – 6 art gallery, Sofia /curator iskra Tra-ianova/

RESidEnCiES:

2006 - “objective1=art=objective1”, oslip, austria1998 - Cite internationale des arts, Paris, France

From 1998 - member of the “Painting” section at the Bulgarian artists’ union.© = catalogue/bi/ = briefly intervention

ConTaCTe-mail: simeonstoilovstudio@gmail.commobile: +359 879 10 10 96