Tocka

Ivan Najdenovski, exhibition of prints "In search of the truth"
 

from Elena Veljanovska review...

Ivan Najdenovski works in all graphic techniques, constantly experimenting, discovering new effects… One of the most inventive of them is the “soft glaze”, consisting of a use of tree leafs and cloth with different facture, which leave various texture impressions during printing. Also, he experiments with various chemical materials so that he can achieve a wide range of different surfaces. This is his first solo exhibition.
This exhibition consists of two major volumes of work: his graduation work and his magisterial theses, as well as some peaces he made in between.
His graduation work is called Symbols of the Universe and it is made up of three parts. Each of the parts represents a geometrical form with his personal association made into an image. The circle represents the infinite movement, the triangle – the man and his three emanations: the physical, the intellectual and the spiritual, and the square that represents the four elements of nature: air, water, fire and earth. The three forms jointly symbolize the man as a link between the micro and macro cosmos. The Christian religious symbolism is the result of his extensive research of the Byzantine art.
The second part of this exhibition is his magisterial work entitled Life in which he searches for truth, love and freedom, things that Najdenovski finds are crucial for achieving the impossible. He uses a story to document the conception of life and its fight for survival. In his graphic work the man is represented as a snail. The snail and the man, both carry the weight of their problems and the solution in themselves. Both of them are responsible for their own joy and sorrow. Najdenovski’s own life experiences are the inspiration for this cycle of work. His main concern is to explore himself, the world around himself, the relations between people and things and people’s reflection on things. He despises the world’s preoccupation with the material at the expense of the spiritual. The action in his work takes place in surreal space with atmosphere of melancholy, a leader with no beginning and no end, an inverse perspective of mystery… The emphasis is placed on the infinite movement represented through a spiral – a symbol of man’s descent in to the depths of the soul. In this part of the exhibition a more personal touch is being felt. The work is more mature, visually clearer and technically perfected.
In between these two cycles he works on graphics that are part of the third section of this exhibition. These pieces are nudes in which the line and the drawing are the main forms of expression, adapted to his wide range of techniques.
More recently he occupies himself with a process of hand-made paper.


biography - Ivan Najdenovski

1978 - Born in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
1997 - Graduates from the School of Applied Arts in Skopje, specialized in graphic art. He participates in all joint school exhibitions.
1997-2001 - Attends and graduates at the National Art Academy in Sofija, Bulgaria.
2001-2003 - Defends his magisterial thesis at the National Art Academy in Sofija, Bulgaria.

ONE-MAN EXIBITIONS:
2004 - Cultural center Tocka, Skopje

GROUP EXIBITIONS:
2003 - Fourth international graphical trianale, Bitola.
2003 - Annual international exhibition of graphics in small format – gallery Lessedra, Sofija.
2003 - Group exhibition of the class of Professor Zdravko Stojanov in Balchik, Bulgarija.
2002 - Annual international exhibition of graphics in small format – gallery Lessedra, Sofija.
1998 - Participates in the art colony dedicated to the 50’Th commemoration of the universal declaration of human rights in the village of Sinemorec, Bulgaria. He receives the price from the patron of the colony.