May 16 to June 16, 2026
House of the Architect - Varna
THE SEA TO THE KNEES
Exhibition of works from the Kokimoto collection
16 May – 16 June 2026
The state of emotional decompression represents the release of hidden feelings and emotions to transform into healthier states... This is an excerpt from the concept of the first exhibition of works of art from my personal collection. Hidden in this case was my passion for collecting contemporary art, and a kind of liberation happened with the realization of the exhibition in 2024 at the House of the Architect - Varna. Titled "Emotional Decompression", it included a selection of works from my collection on the topic of architecture, interiors and exteriors. It was the title of the exhibition that became the name of the project, through which I aim to show in the long term the full potential of the collection of various works by favorite authors that I have collected over the past 20 years. The sequel took place in the Depot Gallery - Sofia with the working title "Banana Drama" in which in addition to works on the topic I also exhibited my interpretations in order to make the connection between my activities as an artist and a collector. For those who are not familiar with this activity of mine, the combination of the two turns out to be necessary for the overall perception and comprehension of the project, which continued in 2025 at the House of the Architect with the exhibition "Pleasant relaxation in carefree idleness" with works by 33 artists from all over the world, and in the same year I presented a series of works on marine themes with the subtitle "Health conditions", suitable for the subject matter of the works shown.
As a natural continuation in 2026, in the fifth exhibition of the series, I show this selection of works in Varna again at the House of the Architect, but with many more works and my own developments on the topic, the contemporary development of which has been exciting to me for a long time. In my role as curator of my own collection, I chose works that are directly or figuratively related to the sea and the states of pleasure from contact with it. The exhibition entitled "The Sea to the Knees" focuses on love, lightness and pleasure from contact with this element, which are felt literally in half of the art shown or are barely perceptible in the other half. My works, which I include in the exhibition, are old drawings, graphics, collages and paintings from other series and projects, most of which have not been shown in Varna so far, but also completely new fiberglass sculpture, all specially selected for the purposes of the general impact. The participants in the exhibition are both Bulgarian and foreign artists, who in one way or another condition the exposition thematically, and I myself appear in my role as an artist, collector and curator.
The presented artists are Aleksi Ivanov, Alla and Chavdar Georgievi, Antoniya Koleva – Nitra, Billy Mateeva, Boris Hoppek, Bruno Donzelli, Cesar Pimentel, Dimitar Karatonev, Erró, FriendsWithYou (Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III), Ivan Mudov, Jeff Koons, Keiichi Tanaami, Kenny Scharf, Kiril Stanoev, Kokimoto, Mcbess, Martina Vacheva, Neno Belchev, Petar and Kostadin Kostadinov, Peter Mintchev, Rositsa Getsova, Sasho Violetov, Svetozar Kolev-Pitkin, Simeon Stoilov, Slavena Simeonova, Stefan Bozhkov, Takeru Amano, Tihomir Stoyanov, Velizar Dimchev, Yasen Zgurovski, Yves Dacamps
Kaloyan Iliev - Kokimoto
