Ivan Kanchev
I try to create new universal abstract forms with original language and technique of expression. In search of a new universality and the total work, I assimilate different epochs (from prehistory to the contemporary) and different types of art (painting, sculpture, installation, ceramics, graphics, drawing, mosaic, stained glass, architecture, photography...). In a global perspective I present the development of civilization with its contradictions in social, political and philosophical terms. Apparently, man is absent from the depicted labyrinth of life, but his influence and presence can be felt. At the base is prehistory - with its universal principles. The vessel viewed in the broadest sense. The vessel with its universal form, which collects and conserves... Technologically, I develop ancient Neolithic sculptural and ceramic techniques (black pottery) as painting, but through the mosaic technique and the structure of the panel. My method of cutting my vessels into hundreds of fragments for firing, colouring and assembling not only demonstrates a unique artistic approach but also offers a philosophical commentary. This technique, reflecting the complexity of human existence and the interrelatedness of all things, challenges conventional artistic norms and extends the boundaries of creative expression... In creating the geometric structure of the work, I use the techniques of the panel, mosaic, and stained glass, as well as architectonics and construction... (The work can also be perceived as an installation, object, sculpture. I use inlays, incrustations, photography, and drawings). "Pixelated" with emphasized constructive geometric elements, these works are unique spiritual spaces, uniting tradition and present day.
"Abstraction 100" (Transition), red clay, engobe, glaze, soot, polyurethane, wooden base, 158x158x15 cm, 2025
