10 Questions with Ivan Kanchev

Ivan Kanchev was born on September 17, 1973, in Ruse. In 2000 he graduated in Ceramics at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, and in 2006 in Psychology at the University of Ruse "Angel Kanchev". He defended his doctoral dissertation in art history and fine arts at the Department of Sculpture. Between 2010 and 2011, he was a part-time lecturer in sculpture at the Department of Ceramics at the National Academy of Arts. Ivan has had dozens of solo exhibitions of his work and participated in many group exhibitions in Bulgaria and in prestigious ceramics forums in Italy, Spain, Japan, Poland, Denmark, France, Belgium, Switzerland, China, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Croatia, the USA, and others. He has won national and international awards (Prize in the international competition for the Art of Unity Creative Award, New York (2021); "GOLD LIST Special Edition - The best contemporary artists of today" in Art Market Magazine. Global Media Company (2021, 2022); Award, Light Space & Time Art Gallery, Palm Springs, CA, USA (2021). His works are in prestigious galleries and museums around the world. In addition, he is the author of curatorial projects and several books in the field of sculpture and ceramics.

He currently teaches at the Department of Sculpture at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia.

ivankanchev.cloud | @ivan_kanchev

Man, where are you? (Night Visions) | Project Description

The project "Man, where are you?" concerns current problems of the present existence. Everything is fragmented in ecological, social, and political terms. The earth is "notched". The man is small and naked, confused and defenseless, represented with outstretched arms and legs apart - in a poetic and artistic crucifix. It is an object-subject, center and periphery, meaning and time.

The man runs, looking to find his foundations. His human nature is shaken. Embroiled in the mosaic of continuing problems, he frantically seeks happiness in the maze of life. But is he able to come to his senses and find himself? Will he find happiness in this direction of search?

The depicted scenes with clay and fire in "Man, where are you?" are nocturnal, as in a dream, as picture visions. Yet, thematically they are derived from the heritage of universal history and culture. The monumental vessel shape is symbolic. The circle is like an echo of the ideal, as an image of Mother Earth, like the Sun. The rectangle is reminiscent of human existence, the boundaries of time, space, and corporeality.

Plate - Еclipse (detail), 2018, red clay, reduction, smoking, 160x160x10 cm © Ivan Kanchev

INTERVIEW

You already have a long career, both as an artist and an academic. How did you develop into the artist you are today?

With hard work and perseverance. Only through hard work can you get to know yourself, develop your gift, and find originality if you carry it inside. With hard work, you can gain experience and master to perfection the material you use to express yourself fully and freely. Also, hard work cultivates the character - the engine of the talent.
It is a pleasure to rise very early in the pristine stillness of the morning to create and contemplate. At the Art Academy, I consciously forced myself (literally) to think about art all the time, to take myself to a higher professional, mental and spiritual level. The nature of the work requires me to work not on a table, a grid, or an easel but on the ground. Purely physical exertion is enormous. It's like being bent over picking strawberries in a field all day. It takes character to overcome yourself.

What is your personal aim as an artist? What do you wish to communicate with your art?

My philosophy as an artist and a person is simple! The meaning of life is to do good.
The main purpose is to maximize the talent God has given me and use it for good. Recognition is not an end in itself. At the heart of creativity is the need. We need to do something with our hands. This is a pure foundation that is a must and a starting point for art. There's something divine out of nothing to appear a clay figurine, a beautiful cup, or a building. This is the miracle of creation.

Plate - Unrest in Eden, 2017, faience, reduction, smoking, 80x80x8 cm © Ivan Kanchev

What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

I am an intuitive artist. I stay away from external influences. If I sense that, I run far away. I'm at a point where I'm inspired by myself. I see the work-ready in my mind like a photograph – with colors and details. The problem is getting it out. I don't rely on improvisation. I define myself as a closed system. I strive for naturalness. I use the primary possibilities of the materials. It is a pleasure for me to dig and work clay. I even bake in a wood-fired trap. It's amazing how fire paints.
I work on impulse. In my work, I reflect on the contemporary aspects of today with their contradictions and social and existential problems. But I also look for deep thought, posing questions of a philosophical and universal nature. With a contemporary outlook and broad understanding of ceramics, I draw from the diverse cultures of the Bulgarian lands. I am fascinated by prehistory and antiquity art, Hellenistic, Roman and Greco-Thracian ceramics of the First and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom and the Renaissance. I also seek universality, using the culture of the blind. I combine utilitarian ceramics and sculpture through the structure of the panel and the technique of mosaic as painting and with strong graphic moments.
At the heart of my work is the vessel - as a starting point for creativity. Over the years, my vision evolved with different approaches to building the form. As another plan of the work (based on my research on the sense of touch), I adapt it in its very conception for purposeful perception and through the hands (as by both sighted and blind people). I seek to transcend the established boundaries of the vessel. Even after firing, I construct and develop it, creating opportunities for creativity. I also transform it into a symbol. My forms can be perceived as objects, sculptures, vessels, mosaics, and paintings. In their genesis, they are constructed as installations. For me, the most important thing is the radiation of the work. It has to somehow grab you, to accept the message. So (as I mentioned), I try to use the natural suggestiveness of materials. It's amazing what spontaneity, sweep, and intensity fire can paint.
I hold on to my freedom and independence. I do not work on commission and for a specific place. I don’t make standard installations because the work must be autonomous. My works are built as three-dimensional installations in themselves.
I also insist on durability, even in human relationships. The strength of ceramics is that it is not subject to time. Metal erodes, wood rots, but ceramics retain their original appearance even after millennia. This is another of its advantages and I don’t combine it with performance, I don’t resort to the expressive means of video.

In your latest series, "Man, where are you?", you depict tiny defenseless human beings. What messages do you want to convey with this series?

In art, the theme of the human figure is universal and timeless. It is interesting to trace its depiction through the centuries. I represent the man running and searching.
The project "Man, where are you? Night Visions" deals with top issues of present existence. Despite calls for unity, everything is fragmented on оn ecological, social, and political levels. Man is small and naked, confused and defenseless. He is on the run, seeking to find his foundations. His humanity is shaken. He is drawn into the mosaic of unceasing problems, frantically seeking happiness in the labyrinth of life. The question is whether he is able to come to his senses and find himself. Will he find happiness in this direction of search?
The depicted night scenes with fire and clay call for a re-evaluation of values, rethinking societal attitudes and philosophy of life. To adhere to a natural way of being, to find a deeper and higher meaning of existence.

Where do you find inspiration for your work, and what is your creative process like?

I don't look for inspiration. I'm not guided by any particular state but by the desire to make a form. I just go step by step on my way. When I don't create for a long time, I become very irritable. Then, of course, there are moments of enlightenment. They are like an impulse. I start a new work only when I see things in my mind. I think in color and shapes. I don't work on projects. And on a large scale, I go straight into the material. When I dive into the process, things naturally fall into place - they flow into each other. Because of slow technology, I set several works at once to gain time, but still, many ideas remain unrealized.

Man, where are you?, 2021, porcelain, glaze, 180x180x13 cm © Ivan Kanchev

Man, where are you? (detail), 2021, porcelain, glaze, reduction, smoking, 180x180x13 cm © Ivan Kanchev

How did you come up with the idea behind this series?

There is nothing specific. As I mentioned, things with me are intuitive and pretty consistent. It's simple. At some point, I realized that I could develop a series to deepen and further my search.

And how did you choose the techniques to use? Did you experiment with something new for this series?

The technique I use is unique. I don't know of any works composed of charred square cores organized with plastic strips. Initially, I was doing reduction and smoking in a machine I designed, but over time I simplified things. Finally, I went back to primary ceramic technology. I would fire, trap smoke, and use an open fire. In this case, the painter's improviser is the fire, but I can still control the colouring to some extent by controlling the temperature and type of clay, and also by re-firing. I rely on the suggestive natural power of materials.

Let's talk about future projects. Are you working on anything new right now? And do you have any upcoming exhibitions or presentations?

I have two solo exhibitions coming up in conjunction with my upcoming anniversary. I'm deliberately (for now) not setting out on new work so I can finish a few unfinished pieces. Ideally, I am going to realize a curatorial project in the Archaeological Museum of Sofia (The largest in Bulgaria, with exhibits from the Neolithic, Antiquity, Ancient Greece, Rome, and Middle Ages). I tingle with excitement and responsibility at the thought of standing next to artifacts thousands of years old, next to masterpieces of world cultural heritage.

Plate - Еclipse, 2018, red clay, reduction, smoking, 160x160x10 cm © Ivan Kanchev

Man, where are you?, 2016, porcelain, reduction, smoking, 140x140x10 cm © Ivan Kanchev

What do you think of the recent changes in the art world? Did you participate in any online exhibition or fair? And do you think these are good opportunities for artists?

It's hard to make generalizations. The scope is broad because of the diversity of targets and viewpoints and the lack of a single organizing principle. The processes of dropping borders and globalization will continue, mixing types and genres, techniques and approaches, materials and methods, concepts, objects, and forms. The possibilities of innovation and technology will again influence the development of contemporary art. But there is an ugly process that seems to me back to the communist era. Even with a good motive, it is unacceptable a bet on the value of the imposition of climate issues, politics, people of colour, gender discrimination, and sexual violence because the basis of creativity is freedom, diversity, and individuality.
By reflecting primarily on the present, contemporary art has turned its back on the great themes of faith, religion, and God. Without absolutizing, it is as if they remained the subject of past ages. Sooner or later, I expect a paradigm shift and a return to the sacred, which is particularly important to me.
Regarding online performance, I do not underestimate it. Next month I have my first solo online exhibition in Canada. It's another contemporary, very practical form of expression and communication, the value of which was especially apparent during the Coven-19 pandemic.
Online exhibitions provide tremendous opportunities despite the lack of direct tangible access to the work. Internet space is a parallel world that has proved more interesting than reality for a huge group of people. Unfortunately, there are no more large-scale, fast, convenient, time-adequate means to promote artists and their work.

Finally, what are three things you would like to achieve this year?

I hope to regain the rhythm and efficiency of my pre-pandemic Covid-19 days. I wish to find a balance between my daily duties as a father and husband and the creative pursuits that obsess me. Life is bigger than art! The third is to be able to complete and publish the second part of my research - on Bulgarian fine art on a broad basis.

Related Interviews