THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
presents
Svetlana Mircheva
POSSIBLE EXHIBITIONS
10 June–11 July 2021
Vernissage on Thursday, 10 June, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.,
observing all anti-epidemic measures and with controlled access
SAMCA, 2, Cherni Vrah Blvd., Sofia
‘Possible Exhibitions’ consists of a series of numbered drawings that reveal the spirit of Un Cabinet D’Amateur Gallery, which existed in Sofia from 2012 to 2017. The focus of the exhibition is on the works and artists presented in it: Bulgarian and French, united by innovative thinking, the vision and high standard of the gallery’s creator, Olivier Boissière. The project was made possible with the support of the Creative Initiatives Programme of the National Culture Fund.
In 12 large-format and over 70 smaller drawings, Svetlana Mircheva shares her memories of ideas, events, images, exhibitions, works, meetings with artists and working moments. Employing a fragmentary approach, signs and text, she revives individual moments, turning them into a visual archive of gallery life. The series of numbered drawings-memories began with the first drawing of the manifesto of Un Cabinet D’Amateur for Æther Art Space in Sofia in January 2019, when the main concept for the current exhibition was formed.
The title comes from Svetlana Mircheva’s solo presentation ‘Possible Exhibitions’ at the Nurture Art Gallery, New York, in 2012, and her previous research, in which the gallery was seen as a place for possible exhibitions. The 2021 ‘Possible Exhibitions’ commences a more in-depth project relating to the study of the Wunderkammers around the world and other galleries working in a similar way. An integral part of the exhibition is represented by a series of interviews that will be conducted during its duration with anyone wishing to share, in a video conversation or through a short piece of text, their personal experiences related to Un Cabinet D’Amateur Gallery.
Svetlana Mircheva graduated from the National Gallery of Arts in Sofia. She also attended Olafur Eliasson’s class at IUAV, Venice. In 2004, she was granted the International Media Art Award of ZKM, Karlsruhe, for her project ‘Mistakes’. She served as Art Director in the advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather, Demner, Merlicek & Bergman and Carré Noir Sofia, and of Capital Light Magazine. In 2010, she was among the nominees for the BAZA Award and, in 2012, came her nomination for the Henkel Art Award for Eastern European Art. Mircheva was one of the curators of the 2012 Sofia Design Week.
Un Cabinet D’Amateur Gallery has presented artists Lewis Baltz, Sophie Calle, Jean-Charles Blais, Kalin Serapionov, Stefan Nikolaev, Marie Maillard, Stela Vasileva, Svetlana Mircheva, Ivan Mudov, Kiril Prashkov, Alejandro Gehry, Tanya Glebova, Iskra Blagoeva, Dimitar Solakov, Misirkov/Bogdanov, Iskra Blagoeva/Mihail Novakov, and Stefania Batoeva, among others. The gallery hosted the series, ‘Meetings with Nedko’, between young artists and Nedko Solakov after his idea, and architectural presentations such as ‘For Architecture Lovers Only’ from the successful project, ‘Reinvent Paris’, by Sou Fujimoto and the Manal Rachdi OXO Architectes. Un Cabinet D’Amateur published the art books ‘Sechs Songs d’Amour’ by Jean-Charles Blais and ‘Look at Me, David!’ by Kalin Serapionov, as well as catalogues of the exhibitions of Marie Maillard, Kalin Serapionov, Stela Vasileva, and Svetlana Mircheva. Young Bulgarian architects, artists, art connoisseurs, are friends of the gallery.