Nedko Solakov

Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov’s artistic intervention, A Cornered Solo Show #3, will not be on view in the prestigious galleries of the Upper Belvedere; instead, it can be found in an inconspicuous corner of the museum’s coatroom. In this transitional space between arrival and departure, Solakov engages visitors with the themes of his art and wittily involves them in an inner dialogue with his artistic conscience. He writes of his intentions:

“I would love to do a huge solo show in one of the gorgeous halls of the Belvedere’s magnificent building. And in case this happens and I get invited someday, why not figure out in advance what this show would be? The audience of this extremely well-visited museum is hard to please. How should I prepare myself? “Go to that corner, you 65-year-old dreamer, and until you have a really clear idea of what this solo show of yours will look like, you must stay there, cornered!” said my artistic conscience in the shape of an old friend (and prominent curator) Charles Esche (there was another female possibility for my conscience to be embodied, but they happened to be just starting an almost-the-super-highest-level job at a top art institution and after they excused themselves, Charles was a bit of a last resort, being another old, white – if quite friendly – man). And then, so as to be very spontaneous and artsy-fartsy in front of my conscience/Charles, I decided to fix my thoughts and worries and questions and answers on these very spontaneously done cut-outs of primed canvas, which has stayed rolled up in the corner of my studio for a decade. Here it is, sort of a dialog between me and my conscience. This is not the first time I’ve argued with it and, frankly, as a rule, it always wins. Let’s see what will happen now.“

Curated by Stella Rollig.
Assistant Curator: Johanna Hofer