This is who Mihail Mihaylov is
When Mihail Mihailov says that he is about to spend several weeks in complete isolation in Vienna, he is not talking about quarantine. Ever since it was announced in January that the installation There You Are would represent Bulgaria at this year's Venice Biennale, Mihailov has been caught in a whirlwind of media appearances, logistical challenges and deadlines, while his desire to shake off all this noise and focus on real work has only increased.
When Mihail Mihailov says that he is about to spend several weeks in complete isolation in Vienna, he is not talking about quarantine. Ever since it was announced in January that the installation There You Are would represent Bulgaria at this year's Venice Biennale, Mihailov has been caught in a whirlwind of media appearances, logistical challenges and deadlines, while his desire to shake off all this noise and focus on real work has only increased.
"I've been so busy with all this that I haven't paid much attention to what has been written or what the responses have been," Mihailov says in a tone that reveals that he knows very well that responses have run the usual extreme gamut that accompanies every Bulgarian entry into that forum.
His name is (or was previously) unknown to the general public, as he mostly works in Austria and France. It is quite possible that you had contact with his art here without realizing it: in 2013 he helped put together the exhibition Bulgarian Artists in Vienna at the Sofia City Art Gallery, and if you have recently walked into the old address of the Tarnovo cultural center TAM, you did so under his inscription "Here You Are" on the ceiling. His work with curator Irina Batkova on the upcoming installation follows their exhibition Self brainwashing in Gallery +359 (the Water Tower in Lozenets, Sofia).
His more frequent appearances in Bulgaria come after years spent building his career elsewhere. "At some point, I decided I had to move. I told myself that I had no chance here," says Mihailov, who was born in 1978 in Veliko Tarnovo and now splits his time between Vienna and Paris. "I am very happy with what I learned at the University of Veliko Tarnovo, but there is still a certain conservatism to our understanding of art, and I felt like I was trapped in a cage. I moved to Vienna around 2001."
Self-brainwashing, exhibition view, +359 Gallery, Sofia
His participation in the Venice Biennale creates a certain sense of continuity with the project that represented Bulgaria in 2019, when Lazar Lyutakov, also part of the Bulgarian art diaspora in Vienna, and Rada Bukova, who lives and works in Paris, showed their work in Venice. "There are Bulgarian artists in Paris as well, but it's hard to talk about a scene there, everything there is much more blurred and not as concentrated as in Vienna." Education is also a unifying factor in Austria, as it provides equal support to both locals and foreigners. "Bulgarian artists in Vienna produce and show work at a very high level, and I'm not sure enough people know how high that level really is."
Mikhail Mikhailov, "Long Live France," 2013
The road to regular exhibitions and international projects was not without its challenges. "The first years in Vienna were very difficult. I arrived with the attitude that I would become a famous artist right away, but I faced a different reality. I had to learn a new language, there was confusion about how exactly to position myself, how to survive financially – but these challenges somehow became thematized in my work."
Mihailov found himself in performances and interventions in public spaces (always wearing white overalls), but in recent years he has rediscovered painting, albeit in a very particular way – turning what he leaves behind in the studio, the accumulated dust, stains, bits of plastic and mold, into individual works. "It took me a long time to get back to painting. It was important for me to find the right context in which I could use traditional methods, to deal with perspective again. I needed to first detach from what I had learned, to find what excited me, and then rediscover this medium.” Isn't style a kind of trap? "I've thought a lot about this, but it seems to me that I'm not repeating as much as I'm creating a world, and with each project I see what I can put into it, what new idea, form, or intervention."
In preparation for There You Are, Mihailov is particularly intrigued by the space for his work – the Spazio Rava hall where he will build the six segments of the installation. "Nobody cares how much thought and planning go into a project, but Irina Batkova and I really went through many different stages." The opportunity to work in a space with a more challenging interior in which different architectural elements can be integrated and emphasized, is an essential part of their plans. "Over the last month, the only thing on my mind has been preparing for this candidacy. The fact that no one I knew was surprised that I was throwing myself into this, and no one tried to stop me, was actually a sign that I was ready to do it."
I am everywhere, Drawing Lab Paris, 2019
Bulgaria at the Venice Biennale so far
1912 - Bulgaria's presumed debut at the Venice Biennale. During this period, more and more foreign pavilions became part of the event, whose first edition is in 1895, though it only began to accept international entries in 1907 (when Belgium participates). In 1912, France and Sweden also make their debut.
1942 - Bulgaria participates for the second time while Italy is under the fascist regime of Mussolini. Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Kiril Tsonev, Vasil Stoilov, Iliya Petrov, Nikola Tanev, the sculptors Lyubomir Dalchev, Andrey Nikolov, Mara Georgieva, Yordan Krachmarov and the graphic artists Vasil Zahariev, Veselin Staykov, Pavel Valkov exhibit their work.
1948 - Bulgaria's first participation under its new totalitarian regime. Bulgaria presents works by Nenko Balkanski, Ivan Lazarov, Stoyan Venev, Dechko Uzunov, Vaska Emanouilova and others.
1964 - Marko Markov, Stoyan Venev, Naiden Petkov, Velichko Minekov and Svetlin Rusev show their work in Venice.
1993 - Nedko Solakov is part of the selection of young and promising artists. He shows the installation Dreams (Night).
1999 - Nedko Solakov represents Bulgaria with "Communication," a work which includes the text: "After nearly 30 years of absence from the officially participating countries at Venice Biennale, the Republic of Bulgaria is proud to announce that it is prepared to properly participate in the next Venice Biennale in the year 2001." This does not happen.
2007 - Eight years later, Bulgaria is represented by "A Place You Have Never Been Before" by Pravdoliub Ivanov, Ivan Mudov and Stefan Nikolaev; the curator is Vessela Nozharova.
2011 - Pavel Koychev, Gredi Assa and Huben Cherkelov represent Bulgaria; the selection process is criticized for not being transparent. The curator is the American George Lux. The long periods of Bulgaria's absence from the Biennale inspire a performance by Niya Pushkarova, who in 2017 walked around Venice in a dress with "Bulgarian Pavilion" written on it.
2019 - The first time the entry is selected following a competition organized by the Ministry of Culture. The jury chooses "How We Live" by Lazar Lyutakov and Rada Bukova, curated by Vera Mlechevska, and the minimalist project inspires polar responses in the media.
2022 - Mihail Mihailov will present "There you are" with curator Irina Batkova at the 59th Venice Biennale.