The Mission Gallery Presented an Ecologically Themed Exhibition by The Artist Valentin Bakardjiev
On April 20, the "Indigo" exhibition of the Bulgarian artist Valentin Bakardjiev, who has been living and working in the Netherlands for years, was opened at the "Mission" gallery of the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The exposition was created as a result of the author's creative searches related to the theme of the blue indigo color, which he used to visualize the idea of the interrelationship between the Blue Planet and us, its inhabitants.
The opening was attended by diplomats, artists and critics, as well as journalists and art lovers. The director of the State Institute for Culture, Snezhana Joveva-Dimitrova, opened the event as the host. Deputy Minister Kostadin Kodjabashev gave a welcome, in which he emphasized that the gallery increasingly attracts contemporary Bulgarian artists living abroad to perform and raise important social and environmental issues through contemporary art. Mr. Kodjabashev congratulated the creator Valentin Bakardzhiev and wished him new successes. The ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bulgaria, H.E. Simon van der Burg, was a special guest at the opening., who expressed his satisfaction with the contemporary exhibition of the Bulgarian artist, who has been living in Amsterdam for years and is inspired by the multidisciplinary genres there. The curator of the exhibition Dr. Mila Stareyshinska-Angelova and the artist Valentin Bakardjiev told more about the messages of the exhibition, about the search for balance and interrelationship between the Blue Planet and its inhabitants and the work process based on sustainable themes and materials.
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. In Amsterdam, his home, the artist creates and grows indigo from seed in his own organic garden in the city and is part of a worldwide network of indigo growers. The cultivation of indigo, the extraction of dye and its use as a means of expression is one of the main lines in Valentin Bakardjiev's work. For the author, indigo is a mission, a message, a means of expression that finds a field of expression through art. The color blue conveys ideas and messages based on socially relevant topics, such as the fragility of the ecological balance in nature. About the connection between us, its inhabitants and the bluest blue of the deep ocean and the endless sky. 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 across cultures from India to Peru, thus making a contemporary reading of its use in art.
The "Indigo" installation is the connecting link in the exhibition, which unites in one common space 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.
The exhibition “Indigo” can be viewed at the "Mission" gallery until May 4.