art
the art of Ivo Venkov
About time, different mediums and perpetual scale

Over time, the art of Ivo Venkov has explored a diverse range of media. Based on his theory of art unity, work with art, architecture and music has thrived on parallel planes throughout the years. Each of the arts has its specifics and own muse of course, however, the basic terms of composition are common for all of them, as simple as that. An added bonus, the art of architecture has its utilitarian side and function is an integral part of form. With spatial arts, which are the subject of this series, free form of expression and flight of imagination take another level in both emotion and gratification of art interaction for both author and spectator.

Ivo started his art career with drawing and painting, branching later in printmaking, illustration, graphic design and some sculpture in related architectural projects. While switching locales in 1987, some of the early works are harder to show here, nevertheless, we will be adding more of the significant early works in better resolution as we go.

Adopting the gislée technique in the early PC years at the end of the 80's, Ivo pioneered the idea of perpetual sizing a single or series of art pieces. And it still seems quite fascinating, compared to any traditional media, opening endless possibilities.

Perpetual sizing (or scale) changes the presence of a specific artwork or series of artworks, creating varied perception at different levels. Not unlike a kinetic sculpture, which can be observed in motion, perpetual scale of printed art adds practically a hidden third dimension to two-dimensional art space, and even advances into temporal arts territory with different artwork scale recognition at differential points in time. In other words, borrowing the physics term "spacetime continuum", perpetual scale delivers exactly that - a continuous and infinitely variable perception of a single or series of, essentially, 2D art pieces as a morphing 4D comprehension of the art pieces in different scale and at multiple time points - or in a full artspace continuum. This effectively bridges over to temporal arts, such as music, theater, cinema, TV, dance, etc, by creating its own projected 2D through 4D universe. It’s a brilliantly simple, yet innovative approach, which also closes the coda gap of temporal arts - they do have an ending, after all. Here, perception develops potentially with no visible boundaries, besides the limits of imagination. Those, in turn, evolve as well - and back to physics, it’s Einstein’s saying “Imagination is more important than knowledge”.

The ability to change the size of an artwork, creating a totally new perception of it, is one of the best sides of digital art. A different type of brush with a different scale, as we'd say. More of a magic wand in fact. The unique (and witty) S | M | L | XL print concept allows flexible implementation in various dimensions, space and environment. Typically, S sizes are printed on 19"x13" archival 300g smooth art paper, edition of 100. M sized prints are on 36"x24" archival flat stock, edition of 50, while L sizes are based on 60"x42" in edition of 20. XL sized are printed to order on ±60" paper as the smaller dimension, edition of 5. All prints are signed, stamped and numbered.

Selected solo exhibits

Ivo Venkov has had a number of successful one-man shows in the US and in Europe. His career in America started with a show at Washington university in Saint Louis, MO in September 1987, where he was a visiting artist/architect at both School of Fine Art and School of Architecture. Subsequently he moved to Los Angles, where he had his second US solo exhibit with IAC Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. He also pioneered virtual show work in the early days of the Internet in collaboration with the Williams Gallery.

  • 1999 Virtual Exhibition, WM Gallery, Princeton, New Jersey
  • 1990 Retrospective Gallery, La Jolla, California
  • 1989 I A C Fine Arts, La Jolla, California
  • 1988 I A C Fine Arts, Beverly Hills, California
  • 1987 Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri
  • 1987 Shipka Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • 1985 Gallery 118, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Art Biennial participation

    Besides a large number of group shows in Europe and the US, Ivo Venkov has participated in a number of international Art Biennials.

  • 1987 Biennial of Humor in Art, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
  • 1987 Biennial of Graphic Arts, Varna, Bulgaria
  • 1986 Biennial of Sports in Art, Barcelona, Spain
  • 1986 Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 1985 Biennial of Humor in Art, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
  • Selected commissions

    We create art at our own free will and spirit, but at all times we also work sucessfully under commission in many different mediums and various scale.

  • 1995 Paraboloid Entry, 7'x18'. stainless steel on granite, 429 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA
  • 1994 Residence Trompe L'oeils, 15 x varied scale, Beverly Hills, CA
  • 1993 Formal Dining Trompe L'oeil, 10 x 6'x4', acrylic on canvas, Beverly Hills, CA
  • 1992 Breakfast Room Murals, 4 x 14'x9', acrylic on drywall, Beverly Hills, CA
  • 1990 Roman Landscapes and Stil Lifes, 12 x 60"x44", mixed media on canvas, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV
  • 1989 Bacchanal Mural, 120'x10', mixed media on canvas, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV
  • 1986 "Train Depot Landscape" 120x80, oil on canvas, Army Corps of Engineers, Ministry of Defence, Bulgaria
  • 1985 "My Friends and Me" 120x180, oil on canvas, Museum of Humor in Art, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
  • The permanent recognition phase

    Being part of a permanent museum collection is one of the highest forms of artistic merit. Ivo's works have been purchased by private collectors and museums across several continents.

  • National Museum of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • City Museum of Osaka, Japan
  • City Municipal Gallery of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria
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