Lot Essay
Conceptual artist Nedko Solakov was born in Cherven Briag (Bulgaria) in 1957. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia and at the Nationaal Hoger Instituut voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp (1985/86). The reflection on the history and perception of art as well as the mechanisms of the art business are central topics in his work. Employing almost all kinds of media - painting, drawing, script, photography and installation - Solakov treats the systems of representation and the real of everyday in a narrative, funny and absurd way. The tragic-comic, which characterise his oeuvre, is an essential feature of Solakov's earlier work. In using this tools he tried to escape, criticize and comment the influence of Bulgarian communism. Playing with the viewer's expectations is a particular goal in Solakov's work since in almost all his installations there is 'nothing' to see, except for small writings in the most unexpected corners. His work is represented in important public collections as The New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York), the MOMA (New York), Tate Modern (London), Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven). Solo-exhibition: A Turnover for Many and a Bit of Luck for One, Whitechapel Street Project, Whitechapel, London (2008). His work was exhibited in de Appel in 2002 (Mess). The artist lives and works in Sofia.