With his exhibition "Redemption" in the "Sofia Press" gallery-bookstore in Sofia, containing paintings and sculptures, Ivaylo Kamenov calls for humility before the inevitability of the passing earthly path. He addresses the message primarily to himself, as he believes that each person must seek their own salvation.

"Perhaps, my sins made me turn to this topic,” the artist says in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. “There comes a time when a person decides that it is time to atone for what he or she has done to others, but also to themselves. Art is not enough - it can only make you think. There are many other things you need to do to receive eventual atonement. I hope the works in the exhibition will make people think about the words they need to say to themselves."

Instead of closing ourselves in our mistakes and problems, isn't it better to open up to the world around us, since each of us is part of the whole and if we remain indifferent, we will continue to live in turmoil, for which we bear our own share of responsibility?

"I believe that every person must first learn about themselves and then work together with other people,” the artist says. “When we turn to ourselves and manage to become good, only then can we come together and do good. Only when a person touches God, they open up to the whole world."

In the year of the collapse of the communist regime in Bulgaria (1989), Ivaylo Kamenov began working on his first larger series of paintings with a unifying theme - the spiritual and physical struggle that modern man is obliged to accept, art critic Vasil Urumov recalls. This theme became an invariable part of his work, developed through rough forms, heavy strokes and strongly affecting earth tones.

"In my conversations with Ivaylo, I discovered his idea, his passion, his desire to find the path to himself and to redemption through the forms he conveys – regardless of whether on canvas or sculpture,” Vasil Urumov adds. “The images come out and in the process of searching and reasoning he finds the path."

Open to pain and the fall, Ivaylo Kamenov created a mural for a charitable purpose in Sofia Central Prison.

"I built waterfalls, but not as people think, but the walls seemed to flow downwards,” the artist says. “Everything was in water, because water purifies. It is the best redeemer, since everything passes through it and it remains clean."

A person must make their own choice, you cannot force someone to act in a certain way without their own will, Ivaylo Kamenov says. And hope is always in one place: "When people believe in God, regardless of whether they are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., since God is one, then things become clear and people become better. However, to find God, we must make great efforts," the artist believes.

"We are used to slightly more radiant, more smiling, more abstract works, while here you can feel a harshness, a passion,” says art critic Vasil Urumov, sending an invitation to future visitors to the exhibition. “For Ivaylo, the canvas is like living matter - it moves under him and directs him what to reveal. His working process takes time, but in the end he reaches an interesting image. It is worth seeing, even to be able to reflect on the work."

Author: Diana Tsankova

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: Diana Tsankova, facebook.com/sofiapressgallery, sbh.bg