"ICEBERG" - project by Peter Mintchev - 11 october 2011

Iceberg | Peter Mintchev | 11 - 26 october  2011 | bulart gallery
opening: 11th october 2011 at 7 pm

About the Project
As the Arctic was explored during the 19th century, sailors returned with accounts of exocticly shaped icebergs. Soon icebergs became a popular subject for artists who reinterpreted these natural phenomena as fantastical shapes that also echoed architectural forms such as cathedrals. These images, almost always presented as realistic depictions of actual places, demonstrate the artistic appeal of disguising subjective abstraction as objective representation. My project "Iceberg" is an ongoing series of paintings in which each is a portrait of an invented iceberg. This painting concept allows me to experiment with abstract painting within the comfort of a representational space, but unlike the nineteenth century exmples of iceberg imagery, my paintings are an attempt to directly dramatize the tensions between the realistic and imaginary aspects of representation.
Peter Mintchev

bio  
Peter Mintchev  / 1979, Varna BG/
Lives and works in Varna, Bulgaria.
Education
2005 Master of Fine Arts Degree, University of British Columbia.
2003 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of British Columbia. Graduated with honors; awarded the University of BC Medal in Fine Arts, given to the student standing at the head of the graduating class in the BFA degree program
Collective Exhibitions, Festivals and Curatorial projects
June 2011 "BAZA Award,” City Art Gallery (SGHG), Sofia, Bulgaria; group exhibition.
April 2011 "CONTEMPO”- international festival for contemporary arts ,Varna, Bulgaria.
October 2010 “Gaudenz B. Ruf Award, Shortlist 2010,” Gallery Raiko Aleksiev, Sofia, Bulgaria
August 2010 “The Big Wave”, August in Art Biennial for Contemporary Art, Varna,Bulgaria
Nov 2009 “20 years,” Art Center Radio Varna, Varna Bulgaria; curatorial project spread over 9 locations in the Varna, Bulgaria
September-October 2005 “Horses for Courses: MFA Graduate Exhibition 2005,” Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia; group exhibition.
January-February 2004 “Lucky 13,” Belkin Satellite, Vancouver, British Columbia; group exhibition.

2003-2004 Phthalo Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia; three group exhibitions as part of commercial representation by Phthalo Gallery.
April 2003 “You Are Here,” UBC Fine Arts Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia; BFA graduate exhibition
 Solo exhibitions
October 2011 "Iceberg", Bulart gallery, Varna, Bulgaria
Sept. 2011 "At Sea,” Gallery Vaska Emanuilova (SGHG), Sofia, Bulgaria; solo exhibition
May 2011 "Places and Objects,” Modo Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria; solo exhibition
March 2011 "Read My Lips,” Gallery Pistolet, Sofia, Bulgaria; solo exhibition
May 2010 “Landscapes,” Gallery Uka, Varna, Bulgaria; solo exhibition.
March 2010 "Golden Paintings," Gallery BulArt, Varna Bulgaria; solo exhibition
Oct 2009 “Vancouver,” Gallery Vitra, Varna, Bulgaria; solo exhibition in the frame of “Contempo”- international festival of contemporary arts in Varna, Bulgaria
Jan 2009 “Objects and Meaning,” City Art Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria; solo exhibition.
Dec 2008 “Landscapes,” Gallery Pistolet, Sofia, Bulgaria; solo exhibition.
October 2006 “Collision,” Kwantlen Art Gallery, Surrey, British Columbia; solo exhibition.
Nov 2002 “Letters From The Province” UBC Fine Arts Gallery, Vancouver / with Simon McNally/