BELCANTO
solo show by Velizar Dimchev
August 13, 2021 - September 1, 2021
Curated by Valko Chоbanov
Opening: August 13, Friday, 19:00 h.*
FLUCA – Austrian Cultural Pavilion
36 Otets Paisiy St, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
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* Performance of August Metodiev at the opening of the exhibition.
"We buy old stoves, washing machines, water heateeeeeers." This is how Sunday mornings sound, in Plovdiv, in belcanto.
Belcanto is a term with a nostalgic nuance related to the Italian opera tradition. Its literal translation can be "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song". In a general sense, it is a definition of a typical singing style, characterized by the lightness of sound and focus on its sheer beauty and grace, and the melody it creates. In Plovdiv, Belcanto is also an almost nominal name. It recalls a place where scrap metal is bought - because of the notable company for recycling and processing of metal waste having the same name: BELCANTO Ltd.
In his current artistic project, the visual artist from Plovdiv Velizar Dimchev seeks the correlations between the elite art of opera and the practices of recycling scrap metal. Far from the chivalry of the conscious ecological act, in which recycling is a common planetary cause, hundreds of people actively walk our city streets on a daily basis, practicing recycling out of necessity. Thanks to them, an enviable amount of household waste regularly reaches the waste recycling points, and a naturally structured urban ecosystem functions flawlessly. Grace from another essence.
Looking for the Plovdiv Belcanto, Velizar Dimchev reached the auto morgue and joined the act of recycling outright.The moment that interests the artist is the moment when the objects no longer perform their original function and finish their journey as waste material. Among the pile of scrap, he brings out the poetic: he selects objects that he uses in the creation of his current works of art. He approaches the thrown-out automobile parts as a collection of disintegrating artifacts, from which some, ones picked up are modified into art objects, thus (temporarily) stopping their disintegration process.
Therefore, parts that have lost their factory purpose, including fenders, crankcases, and doors, are somewhat theatrically placed in the exhibition space. Illustrative pop art, in which images of angel eyes and stage curtains reflect the decorative state of things in which we happen to find ourselves. Recycling as an attempt for salvation.
Looking for beauty and synchronicity, Velizar Dimchev pulls objects out of their utilitarian function and creates meaning beyond the achieved purpose. His work redefines the relationship between high art and the scrap collectors - from visual conflict to surprising assonance. In fact, the morning shouts of those collectors are actually melodic and imply the sense of a song. And maybe their occupation is an intuitive execution of a higher calling.
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Velizar Dimchev was born in Plovdiv in 1983. In 2007 he graduated from the MA Painting program of the National Academy of Arts, Sofia, in the class of Prof. Andrey Daniel. Over the years, Velizar has been actively working in various fields of contemporary art such as painting, installation, objects, photography, etc. Some of his solo exhibitions include: “Never Ending Fun” - Cu29 Gallery, Plovdiv (2019); “Franky’s World” - The Book Club - London (2014); "Naked Eye" - UniCredit Studio - Sofia (2014) "Franky reality project" - Interactive installation, Night of Museums and Galleries - Plovdiv 2011 and others. His exhibitions have been presented at various festivals and events in Bulgaria such as One Design Week - Sofia, Night of Museums and Galleries - Plovdiv, and CONTEMPO Festival - Varna. In 2016 he founded Coffee&Gallery Cu29, a space for culture and art in Kapana, Plovdiv.