Past Residents
Past Resident2012: Foundation for a Civil Society
Vikenti Komitski
Vikenti Komitski’s work involves the use of ready made principles applied to objects and ideas. Sometimes the content of his work aims to create a critical view over the creation of art work itself, while other times it does not.
Vikenti Komitski (born 1983, Sofia, Bulgaria) lives and works in Sofia. Komitski graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia with a degree in Sculpture, 2006. Since then, he has participated in a number of exhibitions, including Entrepot, Krinzinger Gallery, Vienna, curated by René Block; Photo I Photo You, Calvert 22, London, curated by Iara Boubnova; and FQ-Test, GMG Gallery, curated by Andrey Parshikov, Moscow. In 2011, Komitski received the BAZA Award for Contemporary Art. Komitski is represented by 0gms Gallery, Sofia and Sariev Gallery, Plovdiv.
Vikenti Komitski, Generator, 2011, Computer and clam, Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.
Vikenti Komitski, Together Again, 2009, Collage – paper world map, 63 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Vikenti Komitski, My Budget For This Exhibition, 2009, Coins, Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.
Vikenti Komitski, Being Clever Doesn’t Help, 2008, Wood and cardboard, 28 × 28 × 7 in. (71.12 × 71.12 × 17.78 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Vikenti Komitski, Permanent, 2011, Tattoo on the index finger, 3/16 × 1/8 in. (0.51 × 0.25 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Residents from Bulgaria
Past Resident2012: Foundation for a Civil Society
Tomas Rafa
Tomas Rafa’s work explores the line between patriotism and nationalism. Through photographs and videos, Rafa focuses on displays of racism and xenophobia in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Over the last three years, Rafa has created a video project set against the background of political demonstrations, blockades, protests, and scenes of everyday life in these countries. The project features group demonstrations and displays of extremism where national and sexual majorities are in opposition to minorities, often complimented with the artist’s own actions and performances. Just as the famous Czech director Karel Vachek, Rafa keeps the camera on at all times during these events, even when the journalists have left. In this way, the footage presents situations one would not have the chance to see on a television news program. Rafa won the Oskár Čepan’s Award for 2011 in Slovakia.
Tomas Rafa (born in 1979 in Zilina, Slovakia) graduated from the Department of Digital Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia. He also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.
Tomas Rafa, Antifa and Feministic Groups Block March of Catholics Against Abortions, 2011, Video still. Courtesy of the artist.
Tomas Rafa, Poles Protest in Front of Russian Embassy, 2011, Video still. Courtesy of the artist .
Tomas Rafa, Roma People Citizens Block March of Neo fascists, 2011, Video still. Courtesy of the artist.
Tomas Rafa, Antifa block private meeting of Neo fascists, 2011, Video still. Courtesy of the artist.
Tomas Rafa, Antifa and feministic groups block March of Catholics against abortions, 2011, Video still. Courtesy of the artist.
Past Resident2012: The New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund
Abigail DeVille
Through bricolage, painting, and sculpture, Abigail DeVille cobbles together a visual mass that speaks to the material culture of the present moment. She experiments using found and inherited domestic objects in order to make a connection to the universe. W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of double-consciousness is the conceptual frame DeVille uses to deconstruct two spatial relationships: the claustrophobic space of the urban environment violently clashing with the infinite expanse of the universe. Black holes are an integral metaphor. DeVille warps the time of physical objects. Her objects speak to the physical infinite expanse of universal time and societal ills of the present moment. DeVille’s work is interested in making the visible representation of the invisible.
Abigail DeVille (born 1981, New York City) received her BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2007. She received the Camille Hanks Cosby fellowship to participate in the Skowhegan Residency Program in 2007. DeVille was a participant in the art world’s first reality television show, Artstar, which aired on Gallery HD from June 2006 – January 2009 and culminated with an exhibition at Deitch Projects (NY). She has exhibited at El Museo Del Barrio, Vogt Gallery, project spaces Recess Activities Inc., The Bronx River Art Center and Marginal Utility in Philadelphia, PA. DeVille is a 2011 MFA graduate in painting at The Yale School of Art.
Abigail DeVille, Mirror, Mirror..., 2011, Empty Alexi vodka bottles and broken mirror, Dimensions variable.
Abigail DeVille, Untitled (Boots), 2011, Three Timberland boots, tar, trash bags, and chicken wire, Dimensions variable.
Abigail DeVille, New York at Dawn, 2010, Tyvek, enamel and latex paint, dirt, American flags, graphite, lamp shade, synthetic hair, polyurethane varnish, chicken wire, plastic sheeting, plaster, garbage bags, pâpier-maché, fake eyelashes, duct tape, wood chips, wire, canvas, cigarette butt, acrylic yarn, metal, salt dough, and hardware, 102 × 114 × 96 in. (259.08 × 289.56 × 243.84 cm).
Abigail DeVille, Dark Star, 2010, Trash bags, wood, paper, paint, paper pulp, fabric, colored lights, and plastic drop cloths, 342 × 15413/16 in. (868.68 × 393.19 cm).
Abigail DeVille, Black Hole Pit, 2010, Trash bags, chicken wire, and accumulated signifiers, 72 × 36 × 72 in. (182.88 × 91.44 × 182.88 cm).
