The Mission Gallery Presents the Exhibition "Indigo" by Valentin Bakardjiev
At the Mission gallery from April 20 to May 4, Valentin Bakardjiev will present the "Indigo" exhibition, a result of the artist's creative search related to the theme of the blue indigo color. The color blue is the connecting element in the exhibition. For the artist it visualizes the idea of the interconnection between the Blue Planet and us, its inhabitants. At the same time, the installation "Indigo" is a connecting point that unites two main, large-scale projects of Valentin Bakardjiev Le Grand Bleu and The Butterfly Effect that will be presented at the show as well.
The cultivation of indigo, the extraction of dye and its use as a means of expression is one of the main characteristics in Valentin Bakardjiev's work. For the artist the indigo is a mission, a message, a means of expression that manifests through art. For him the color blue conveys ideas and messages based on social issues such as the fragility of the ecological balance in nature and the connection between us, its inhabitants and the bluest blue of the deep ocean and the endless sky. The life and creative path of Valentin Bakardzhiev starts from Bulgaria, passes through the Dominican Republic, Italy and reaches the Netherlands, where he has been living for the last 15 years. Today he lives in Amsterdam, where he works and grows indigo from seeds in his own organic garden in the city and is part of a global network of indigo growers.
The presentation of the "Indigo" installation in a common space with two other main projects of Valentin Bakardjiev's work, Le Grand Bleu and The Butterfly Effect, which are also based on the blue indigo color, will enrich and expand the transmission of the messages embedded in the author's works. The project is also a way of making a historical reference to the centuries-old history of the blue indigo color and dyeing with natural materials, which can be traced in different cultures from India to Peru reaching a modern reading of its use in art.
The "Indigo" exhibition is a project by Valentin Bakardjiev, through which he aims to transmit important messages by creating socially engaged art based on sustainable themes and resources. In his works he uses mainly natural materials and focuses on contemporary art as a means of conveying messages about the balance and interconnectedness between our Blue Planet and us as its inhabitants.
Curator: Mila Stareyshinska-Angelova