Contraversion

Kaitlin Deering and I are going to be the American representatives for "Contraversion," an exhibition of Bulgarian/American contemporary art. The three artists representing Bulgaria are Prof. Ivan Bochev, George Dinev, and Vesselin Kourtev. The show is going to be at the Alfa Art Gallery in lovely New Brunswick, New Jersey. Alfa Art is located on Church St, right off of George St, just two storefronts down from the Court Tavern. The exhibition runs from May 9-22 and the opening reception will be Saturday, May 9 from 7:30-11pm.

About "Contraversion"
by Natalie Trainor, Alfa Art Curator

When hearing about Alfa Art Gallery’s second annual Bulgarian Seasons there is no question as to which of the gallery’s members will be the artists showcasing their contemporary works. Vesselin Kourtev and George Dinev exemplify the quintessential style that sets the artists apart from other practicing artists throughout the world. The story of later twentieth century Bulgarian art and the style these artists employ only grows more interesting when you learn of the great achievements of the man Kourtev and Dinev studied under in Bulgaria. Professor Ivan Bochev’s respectable career as an artist and educator lives in the creative executions of his students. Exhibiting the careers of Bochev, Kourtev and Dinev together connects the three artists on an international scale. It is a product of the experiences of a Bulgarian art education. From their native environment of memory comes an expansive sense of experience, which has inspired each artist to create a tradition of their own. In Bulgarian Seasons you will find the ongoing process of cultural exchange: The artists have absorbed the old, familiar style and tradition and recast it into new form. They break away from traditional concepts of composition. Through encounter and exchange new histories are written and avant-garde art evolves.

In order for the exhibition to be true forming of cross-cultural exchange it is important to recognize the juxtaposition of the mature works of Bulgarian artists to the contemporary imagery of young American artists Kaitlin Deering and Robert Mermet. The response and outcome of Deering and Mermet to their surrounding environment is similar to Kourtev and Dinev. The landscapes of Ms. Deering’s color saturated paintings provoke the viewer to question the imagery before them. However, this questioning and the response you search for is as open-ended and cyclical as nature. As in nature, the fluidity and poetic abstraction found in her works is better left unknown. Equally provocative, Mr. Mermet’s paintings and videos are a by-product of the artist’s relationship with American culture. The artist displaces societal norms into his own refashioned world and transforms persistent memories into a unique and satiric aesthetic.

Together, the creative collective consciousnesses of these artists present the pleasures and torments of our experiences with the world in which we live.