Cool Hunting

Last fall, we were impressed by a series of 99 ink-and-paper drawings at the Documenta 12 exhibition in Kassel, Germany. Each drawing depicted an acute fear and included a short, handwritten explanation (like, "A man is already in heaven. It's kind of nice and calm although he still keeps his life-long fear of dying one day," at left) scrunched in the bottom. The concise stories were often funny, occasionally poignant and represented a welcome diversion from the otherwise dull, contemplative exhibition held in one of Central Europe’s more dreary enclaves.

The work in question is "99 Fears” by the Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov. His work ranges from sculpture to drawing to installation, along with conceptual pieces like 2001's "A Life (Black and White)," where he hired two workers who simultaneously painted the walls of a gallery space white and black, respectively, for the duration of the exhibition. To some, he is best known for representing his native Bulgaria after they were belatedly included in the 1999 Venice Biennale after a three-decade absence. His lone offering for the national pavilion was a single postcard bearing the Bulgarian flag that read, "Very Important Announcement. After nearly 30 years of absence from the officially participating countries at the Venice Biennale, The Republic of Bulgaria is proud to announce that it is prepared to properly participate in the next Venice Biennale in the year 2001."

We were able to speak with the artist as he prepared for a marathon year, including the impending publication of a pair of books and exhibitions in a number of global cities spread across three continents. Read the interview and see some additional images after the jump.

You use many different mediums in your work and don't seem to have a visible signature that's in every piece. How would you describe this diverse body to the uninformed? Do you see any static elements?
I would say that there is a common attitude behind it all. I'm telling stories, employing a variety of media. This visual diversity was a bit of a problem in the early-to-mid '90s, when a lot of people were not able to understand that this and that work may come from the same artist. Now it's okay, and it was worth to struggle because I can do whatever I want visually.

Humor and sarcasm are integral aspects of your work. Do you feel that it ever detracts from more austere subjects?
I believe that with humor and sarcasm, I am touching on pretty serious matters.

You live in Sofia [the Bulgarian Capital], which is not a conventional art hub. What keeps you there, and how has the Bulgarian experience informed your work?
This is a frequently asked question. I usually answer that the sense of absurd in my work gets stimulated and fed by the absurdity of the Bulgarian reality. There is a vivid young scene here, and I am trying to keep track what's going on—at least by buying young and not-so-young artists' works. My wife and I are collecting mainly works on paper. Besides a good collection of Bulgarian masters from the 1920s to '60s, we have a good collection of international art, half swapped with fellow-artists, half bought at galleries. There is no museum of contemporary art in Sofia, so maybe I am the substitute. I'm also associated with a small but very effective organization of artists and curators called ICA Sofia, and we are doing the job of the Ministry of Culture, which do nothing. Recently, my wife and I bought an apartment in downtown Sofia that is getting renovated to become a small gallery and office, which we will be lending to the institute. But personally, my last solo show in Sofia was in 1999.

How does Bulgaria regard you as an artist? Did the fall of communism have a drastic effect?
After the changes [the communist People's Republic of Bulgaria fell in 1989], it was a hell of a job to "enter" the "Art World" in the West. I was coming from nowhere, nobody knew anything about Bulgaria. But step by step, show after show I (relatively) made it. The government doesn't recognize me. Sometimes some people kind of get who I am on the international scene but, in general there's no special treatment. I keep a low profile in Sofia. I don’t talk about my art collection, for example, because of the criminality (and no, I am paying my taxes!).

Ninety-nine is a lot of fears. Are you a particularly scared person?
I have more, actually. Yes, I am a scared person, but I'm trying to deal with it. One of the ways is to make art works of my fears.

Solakov recently signed a contract with Phaidon, who will publish "Nedko Solakov: 99 Fears" later this year. He’ll have a solo show at Kunstmuseum Bonn opening September 19th, to travel to Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2009. Another solo show is slated for Ikon Gallery Birmingham in 2009 and he’ll have work in the Sydney Biennale and Prospect 1 (the first New Orleans Biennial), as well as a smattering of group shows for apex New York, Kunsthaus Zurich, Tramway Glasgow and others.