LAB ART PRIZE - VENICE’27Deadline: November 12, 2026
Gergana & Ivaylo Palikarska & Kotzev
Bulgaria
Mix Media
Artwork title : Memory of Puglia
ARTWORK DETAILS
Artwork Title: Memory of Puglia
Year of Creation: 2026
Year of Creation: 2026
Medium / Technique:
Mixed media / collage with volumetric elements: miniature balcony and wooden window shutters over an oil painted background.
Mixed media / collage with volumetric elements: miniature balcony and wooden window shutters over an oil painted background.
Dimensions:
70 x 60 x 7 cm
70 x 60 x 7 cm
Description & Project Concept:
This artwork is born from personal experiences and shared emotions, deeply inspired by our travels in Italy, where we were captivated by the spirit and architectural heritage of the South. The specific balcony featured in the project is a recreation of a real balcony found in the city of Bari, reimagined through our artistic vision. Our goal was to capture that unique Italian nostalgia, intimacy, and aesthetics, embedding it directly into the space of the canvas.
This artwork is born from personal experiences and shared emotions, deeply inspired by our travels in Italy, where we were captivated by the spirit and architectural heritage of the South. The specific balcony featured in the project is a recreation of a real balcony found in the city of Bari, reimagined through our artistic vision. Our goal was to capture that unique Italian nostalgia, intimacy, and aesthetics, embedding it directly into the space of the canvas.
- The Painted Background (by Gergana): Translating her background in monumental arts and painting onto the canvas, the backdrop is rich with deep, saturated terracotta and red tones. Fluid silhouettes of swans delicately emerge from the background, lending the piece a mystical, dreamlike character.
- The Miniature Architecture (by Ivaylo): Integrating highly detailed sculptural and model elements directly into the oil canvas. The window with vibrant turquoise shutters and the delicate balcony are not merely painted, but physically crafted and mounted onto the surface, creating a captivating play of depth, texture, and shadow.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
A Meeting of Academic Spirit and Precision Detail
At the core of this project lies the seamless fusion of two distinct artistic voices:
Gergana Palikarska is a contemporary visual artist whose style is built upon a solid academic foundation. She graduated from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in 2003, studying under iconic figures such as Acad. Svetlin Rusev, Prof. Desislava Mincheva, and Prof. Ivaylo Mirchev. She is a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists and is well-known to the public through her solo exhibitions. Her profound sensitivity to color and composition sets the emotional tone for our collaborative works.
Ivaylo Kotzev brings this emotional essence into the third dimension. Possessing an exceptional sense of detail, architectural forms, and scale, his intervention materializes space, transforming the illusion of the canvas into a physically tangible object.
Our collaboration is a vivid example of synergy between classical painting techniques and precise spatial miniatures. This joint project materializes the intersection of two distinct artistic perspectives—the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional—into a single, highly atmospheric aesthetic expression.
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