Nedko Solakov

The tailcoat is the traditional costume of the magician, who is the artist’s alter ego. The mannequin sculpture A Magician’s Nightmare, 2016, clad in the aforementioned garment, is, like everything by the Bulgarian turbo-conceptualist Nedko Solakov, rife with mystery and rueful humor. Solakov’s art is highly personal but also political; spirited and witty, humorous and ironic, it unites critique with self-criticism—and sometimes glimpses of something darker. Some writing on the linen straps hanging from pockets hidden in the tailcoat reveals the wearer’s hidden hostility: I HATE PEOPLE, IN GENERAL. MOST OF THEM DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE AND I HAVE TO ENTERTAIN THEM, INSTEAD OF SHOOTING THEM DEAD.

Solakov is a raconteur, and he set up his exhibition “Stories” comprising completely new as well as reassembled pieces—as a cheerful narrative stroll through the gallery. In the

— Brigitte Huck