Sariev Contemporary Gallery was founded by Katrin and Vesselina Sarievi in Plovdiv. Sariev Contemporary focuses on establishing itself as an international gallery for contemporary art and works for the development of the scene of contemporary Bulgarian art.

Since 2011 Sariev Contemporary has built a representative list of Bulgarian-born artists: Rada Boukova, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Vikenti Komitski, Lubri, Stefan Nikolaev, Nedko Solakov, Kamen Stoyanov, Valio Tchenkov, Voin de Voin.

Sariev Contemporary presents solo shows by the artists from the gallery list, new collaborations and solo or group shows by international artists all of them developed in cooperation with curators or critics. The gallery also works on two exhibition programs: Background: Young Artists and Re-discovery.

The need for context and understanding of contemporary art in Bulgaria has motivated us to develop two platforms in partnership with curators and art critics: the annual educational course Introduction to Contemporary Art and the Collectors’ Forum, started in 2011. For those activities Sariev worked with numerous curators and art historians including Vera Mlechevska, Vladiya Mihaylova, Iara Boubnova, Jacob Racek, Vessela Nozharova, Emile Ouroumov, Maria Vassileva, Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, also Walter Seidl, Bettina Steinbrugge, Aaron Moulton and René Block. In addition to publishing artists' and exhibition catalogues and booklets, Sariev have also committed to publishing the first bilingual history of Bulgarian contemporary art by art historian Vessela Nozharova, as part of the platform Introduction to Contemporary Art.

Contact

Phone: +359 888 520 375

Email: office@sariev-gallery.com

Website: www.sariev-gallery.com

The logo of Background: Young Artists
Photo: Sariev Contemporary

15 Minutes of Fame (performative event)

The project 15 Minutes of Fame is part of the long-lasting platform of SARIEV Contemporary Background: Young Artists (started in 2010) which aims to present and support young Bulgarian artists and curators. The project was realized as an intensive two-day event named Background: Young Artists 2018, in partnership with Open Arts Foundation and FLUCA – Austrian Cultural Pavilion, on 30 June and 1 July 2018, for the first time in Sofia and at two different locations: Tell Me bar and SARIEV Studio. The program on the first day at Tell Me bar was curated by Vera Mlechevska and included the presentation format 15 Minutes of Fame (first edition in 2016) in which young artists present their work to an audience, in an event designed dramaturgically and including interludes with music and performances, and the exhibition and party In the Dark. The following day was for the workshop for young artists Portfolio Day (first edition in 2016) at SARIEV Studio, where young artists under the age of 35 selected after an open invitation, received individual counseling from a professional committee composed of leading curators, artists and gallerists.

Throughout the years, within Background: Young Artists were presented exhibitions by a number of young artists. Gradually it grew into a platform and established itself as a factor in the development of the presented authors, who later became part of the leading names of Bulgarian contemporary art, award winners and some of them – internationally successful artists.