Optimistic, 1990

Basel 2015
Optimistic

Georg Kargl Fine Arts

Nedko Solakov Optimistic, 1990 Graphite, metal, acrylic, white ink, my children's drawings on wooden panel 60 x 92 x 3 cm Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov (born 1957) is a storyteller par excellence. He tells stories with humor and irony and in his narratives, he deals with universal subjects as well as autobiographical elements. The two paintings titled "Pessimistic" and "Optimistic" date from the early 1990s, shortly after the collapse of the communist system, towards which Solakov was once patriotic but soon after the collapse he publicly separated from the former tyrannical state. The paintings thus not only dwell on the duality of good and evil, but also on the relationship between personal and collective history, the private sphere and the social dimension. Solakov decided that the order in which to read the pair has to be from pessimistic to optimistic, as if to imply a good ending, wishing the beholder "good luck". Since 1990, when he was presenting his work "Top Secret", which was also on view in 2007 at Documenta 12, for the first time, Solakov has enjoyed an international reputation in the world of contemporary art. He has exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States. His work was featured in the 48th, 49th, 50th and 52nd Venice Biennial, Manifesta 1, Rotterdam, documenta 12. He had solo shows at Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Stichting De Appel, Amsterdam, CCA Kitakyushu, Japan, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Kunsthaus Zurich, Casino Luxembourg, Rooseum Malmoe, O.K Centrum Linz,  Kunstmuseum Bonn, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, and Institut Mathildenhoehe, Darmstadt. Among his recent projects is a site-specific artwork for ECB's new premises in Frankfurt/Main (planned for autumn 2015).