Contemporary pluralistic approach in understanding the visual art is reflected in Atanas Tashev’s art, which, unlike the one-sided manifest program of Modernism, combines an avant-garde influence and a dialogue based message. In other words, the painting presented in the exhibition includes some key aesthetic accents of Modernity – for instance the beauty of industrial Frankenstein, but without a canonizing manifestation or imperative on the viewer, which we find in Marinetti’s work and Futurism, and later in industrial landscape. Instead, the author leaves room for discussions on the visual provocation he has created. Socio-political problems are in the focus of the exhibition, while the provocation is recreated by means of allegorical images – a contrabass, machines or an airplane; the author suggests a subjective reflection over universal truths. The artist used the theme of the killed Bulgarian intellectuals from the last century like Geo Milev, Rayko Aleksiev etc. in his works. The pieces are not bound in a close conceptual frame, which allows for different interpretations.    

The paintings, different as the subjects may be, are organized in series, which are inspired by industrial aesthetics. The pieces are in the spirit of expressionism, well-known from the previous generation Bulgarian expressionists. The similarity to that style, however, is not fundamental, because works like Who Are the Players? I and Who Are the Players? II, despite their monumentality, bear a typical artistic approach, having been created by the author over the years. The massive, even geometric objects play an important role for the desired provocation, especially today, when the artistic impact can be achieved not only by means of conceptual, but also by a specific visual approach.

The exhibition could be seen at Rayko Aleksiev gallery, Sofia, in the period October 25 – November 10, 2018.