DECAY

Debut solo exhibition by David Tadese

05/12/2023

"Decay" is the first solo exhibition of the young Bulgarian contemporary artist David Tadese. Between 5 and 10 December, Bobbina Cultural Space will host some of David's most recent work, in which he plays not only with different mediums and formats, but also with diverse sources of inspiration - from classical figurative techniques to African tribal decorations and symbols.

David Tadesse graduated in Printmaking at the National School of Fine Arts and a BA in Painting from the National Academy of Art, where he also studies for an MA. He currently works with a wide variety of materials - acrylic paints, latex, sprays, stencils, charcoal on paper, wood, and glass. He is not afraid to experiment with textures and colours and manages to wield them with remarkable clarity and boldness. His style, though undergoing a dynamic and particularly intense development, is undoubtedly recognizable. Elongated figures presented graphically, surrounded, and sometimes pierced, by bright patches of pure colour - orange, green, pink and black. The colours, as well as the somewhat decorative elements, seem to come straight from the African tradition, and this is of course no accident.

David explores a cultural heritage that he is family-connected to. He draws on his Ethiopian origins to bring the imagery of the tribal mask and body marks to the forms we see in his original works.

Curators: Bilyana Tokmakchieva and Boyana Raycheva