Mariana Vassileva
40х40х10 cm, paper, pen
When an idea pops into my head, it simultaneously gives me a sense of home and homelessness, as well as an urgency to act. I try to suppress it because we are constantly bombarded with so many ideas...
But there are also those that keep coming back with a new claim to their right to exist. I try to avoid responsibility—there is so much art in the world—surely something similar has already been done, so why should I do it—and that's it...
Then I get the rest, the ultimate arguments, and one day— sometimes years later when the idea has taken thousands of forms and media—I start it.
Yes—while the idea remains in the imagination, it is so wonderful. With creation from the very beginning—the form, the design, they are so far removed from me—so rough, so difficult to achieve...
The creative process is my boss. It is so demanding and difficult to please. At first it wants everything, and in the end... almost nothing. Only the bare minimum that succinctly expresses the idea. Sometimes I want to throw away what I've done. The next day, I see that a lot has been achieved or even that the first decision was the best one, but then I have to go around my world of experiences, my knowledge and ignorance again to see it... It was always there, I just couldn't see it.
But there are also those that keep coming back with a new claim to their right to exist. I try to avoid responsibility—there is so much art in the world—surely something similar has already been done, so why should I do it—and that's it...
Then I get the rest, the ultimate arguments, and one day— sometimes years later when the idea has taken thousands of forms and media—I start it.
Yes—while the idea remains in the imagination, it is so wonderful. With creation from the very beginning—the form, the design, they are so far removed from me—so rough, so difficult to achieve...
The creative process is my boss. It is so demanding and difficult to please. At first it wants everything, and in the end... almost nothing. Only the bare minimum that succinctly expresses the idea. Sometimes I want to throw away what I've done. The next day, I see that a lot has been achieved or even that the first decision was the best one, but then I have to go around my world of experiences, my knowledge and ignorance again to see it... It was always there, I just couldn't see it.
Mariana Vassileva (1964) is a Bulgarian visual artist based in Berlin. Her multidisciplinary practice spans video, photography, installations, sculpture, and drawing, focusing on themes such as the fragility of power, the interplay between reason and emotion, and the contemporary human condition. Her works often incorporate light, fire, and industrial materials, approached with poetic and critical sensitivity. Vassileva's art has been exhibited in renowned institutions worldwide, including the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (Canada), Tate Britain (UK), Centre Pompidou (France), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Spain), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), The Israel Museum (Jerusalem), as well as major German venues such as Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, and Edition Block in Berlin. She has participated in major international events including the 17th Biennale of Sydney (“The Beauty and the Distance”), the 4th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (“Art – Rewriting Worlds”), the Vento Sul Biennale in Curitiba, Brazil, and the First End of the World Biennial in Ushuaia, Argentina (2007). Her works are part of numerous public and private collections, including Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, the René Block Collection (Berlin), Koç Museum (Istanbul), The Israel Museum (Jerusalem), and foundations such as La Caixa and Fundación El Monte.
Website: mariana-vassileva.com
Website: mariana-vassileva.com