Yuliy Takov. The Long Journey
23.05.2020 - 27.06.2020
#Exhibition-In-The-Exhibition
In his new series of drawings from April 2020, Yuliy Takov reserves the spotlight for the artist (that is, himself) and the notion of the importance of his occupation. On the one hand, such an attitude is paramount for the artist’s survival, and on the other – it invokes in him a romantic idea about his own existence.
The reality of isolation during a global pandemic deepens these sentiments. Along with the greater fears comes optimism as a compensatory mechanism, and suddenly the dreams grow bigger.
In the watercolour paintings, the Creator (it is not by accident that he wears a long white beard reminiscent of God Almighty) „floats“ across the Universe brandishing his main tool – the paintbrush. Itshyperbolized size calls to mind various sports equipment suggesting the artist’s desire to set new records and subjugate the world. The landscape is changing, the day gives way to night, but the „athletic disciplines“ never stop. The brush is also a spear, with which to conquer new territories or defeat one’s own fears. The athletic figure of the artist reminds (though with a pinch of irony) the statues of Ancient Greece and the theories of Polykleitos for the attainment of perfection.
In several drawings of the series, Yuliy Takov repeatedly overlays his subject’s head. As he clarifies, On the one hand, the artist exists in society among his peers, so his uniqueness is constantly questioned. On the other, he tends to multiply himself ad finitum. Multiple meanings and freedom of interpretation are important to the author.
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Yuliy Takov was born in 1971 in Sofia, where he lives and works to this day. He graduated from the National High School of Stage and Film Design in Plovdiv (1991) and later from the Private Art Academy Jules Pascin in Sofia (1995), where he studied in the class of Prof. Nikolay Maystorov. Exhibitions: „If one could fly“ (jointly with Kalina Mavrodieva), Rakursi Gallery, Sofia, 2019; „Hunting Trophies“, Rakursi Gallery, Sofia, 2017; „Hunting Trophies“, U.P.A.R.K. Gallery, Plovdiv, 2014, etc. He has participated in a number of group, international, national and curator exhibitions of contemporary art such as „Image and likeness“, Museum of Modern Art Zurab Tsereteli, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2019; „Prof. Nikolay Maystorov and students“, National Art Gallery Kvadrat 500, Sofia, 2018; „Caution: Wet Paint!“, Sofia City Art Gallery, 2015, and many more. He’s been nominated for the Painting Award at the national exhibition „Bourgas and the sea”, City Gallery, Bourgas, 2014. Winner of 3rdPrize from the National Exhibition and Competition of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Foundation, 2004, and of 1stPrize for Painting of the Union of Bulgarian Artist in the name of Ani Tringova.
With the support of Sofia Municipality. Initiative “Solidarity in Culture”