Natural Environment

Miryana Mihaylova and
Monika Pascoe Mikyšková

3 – 24.08.2021

curator Penka Mincheva

The title of the current exhibition "Natural Environment" unites the creative pursuits of Miryana Mihaylova and Monika Pascoe Mikyšhková and welcomes the idea of a closer dialogue with nature, as well as with ourselves.
My choice to bring together these two artists in a joined exhibition is dictated by my inner feeling of close connection between the artists (without them knowing each other personally). Their searches, the presence of natural elements in their works, as well as their personal emotional contribution, are clearly expressed.
The focus is actually a deep attitude towards environment. What provokes us, and what is changing, leaves an imprints on us and reminds us that we exist as individual values.
Their works contain existential questions, to answer it could be strictly personal, but in each artwork there is the question of life, its forms and reflections.
The means of expression that unite Monika and Miryana are not the main thing in the current exhibition, but they remind that watercolor and ceramics are techniques of contemporary expression and with their relatable properties contribute to a more natural connection with the audience.

 

Penka Mincheva
(b. 1979)
She graduated from the Academy of Arts with a degree in Ceramics under Prof. Krassimir Dzhidrov. After graduating, Penka began working with art critic Dimitar Grozdanov and together they organized the Festival of Contemporary Art "Process - Space" for 16 years. She has realized solo exhibitions in the country and abroad, as well as participated in international art forums and residency programs in Europe. She is the curator of a visual project entitled "Architecture of Mind" in Berlin in 2019.

 

Miryana Mihaylova (Bulgaria - USA)
Miryana Mihaylova (b. 1978) graduated Ceramics in 2001 at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in the studio of Prof. Bozhidar Bonchev, and the same year specialized at the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Salzburg with theme “Objects, Sculpture and Installation”. After graduation she participated in various symposia and festivals in Bulgaria and abroad.
Her work covers areas that correspond to themes from our environment and the energy that permeates it.
Works by Miryana Mihaylova have been shown in Sofia, Venice, Varna, Newton etc.
I have the pleasure to have known Miryana and her work since our school years and I am happy that this connection continues to this day.

 

Monika Pascoe Mikiškova (Slovakia)
Monika Pascoe Mikyškova (b. 1983) studied at Academy of fine arts and design in Bratislava. Her freshman year she spent in a classical painting studio under Prof. Jan Berger, her Master’s 2007 and PhD degree. 2014 she finished at Painting and New media studio under Prof. Daniel Fisher. In 2004 she studied in Newcastle upon Tyne under Prof. Roxy Welsch.
Monika's work focuses mainly on nature motifs, and particularly in this exhibition on plants, and shapes of seed, which is multiplied in various forms in her works.
Monica has solo exhibitions mainly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also participates in international group exhibitions in Europe.
An interesting fact is that Monika also works in ceramics and this exhibition only provokes curiosity about her diverse work.
Monika and I crossed our artistic paths in 2009 during a joint residency program in Schwandorf, Germany, and to this day we keep in touch.