Lot 8
Mihail Asen Simeonov
Bulgarian, (1929-2019)
Dream Variant
lithograph
Pencil signed lower right, edition 107/120, stamped "Editions Nani's Fine Arts" verso.
Biography from the Archives of askART: Mihail Asen Simeonov was born in 1929 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Since 1970, the year he emigrated to the USA, he signs his works MIHAIL. His studio is in Orient, New York.
His uncle was an artist, and Young Mihail loved the smell of paint and the atmosphere of his studio. He longed to become a sculptor.
Mihail entered the Academy of Fine Art in Sofia, in 1946, completing his artistic training in 1954 (PhD in Monumental and Decorative Sculpture). He continued to work in Bulgaria sculptural commissions of national significance: the "Paisii Hilendarski" monument in Sofia, "Zahari Zograf the Icon Painter" (National Gallery, Sofia), "The Uprising of Kings Asen and Peter-1186 " (Museum of Patrimony in Veliko Tirnovo), the stone group "Workers" (Industrial plant Kremikovtzi), "Boy With Bird" (Plovdiv) until 1965, when he left for Tunisia to complete several government commissions including the figurative marble reliefs for the national monument "The Martyrs of Bizert". His figurative sculptures are characterized by their vitality, power and elaborate form.
In 1971, Mihail established his studio permanently in the US and in 1974 began exhibiting with a gallery in New York. His "Sunday Morning" and "Minotaur" series contain mythological and Mediterranean influences.
The SUNDAY MORNING SERIES begun in the summer of 1966 in Tunisia. Mihail, after a stormy discourse with the Communist Head of State of Bulgaria was exiled there with papers valid for 45 days. He soon found himself free on the exuberant Mediterranean land in Africa, where Paul Klee had made drawings and Michel Faucault was teaching a course in philosophy at the University of Tunis. Finding ancient Carthage alive in its ruins had a jolting effect on the artist as he drew one Sunday morning. Hens, the title of the series, group of images which in the years ahead he was to interpret in prints and drawings, in various paper and wood sculptures and large bronzes.
In 1975 Mihail made six (h. 9 to 11 in.) wax sculptures: the MIRROR, the TANGO, the STELLA, the BANNER, the QUEEN and the KING. In 1980 in his Boat House studio in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island, he started work on the large Sunday Morning sculptures. By the end of 1986 the original plasters were completed. Also completed were several large size figurative works: The Companions, Messenger, Reclined, Young Girl Exposed to Wind and the Warthogs. They were all cast in bronze in 1989.
CAST THE SLEEPING ELEPHANT
Mihail started work on the project in 1976. He conceives the idea of casting a live elephant in order to promote environmental preservation. Once he had formulated the visual representation of the idea, Cast the Sleeping Elephant took shape through an intensive philosophical and aesthetic exploration, informing a large and varied body of work. As preparations for the cast were being made, Mihail explored its visual possibilities, created a vocabulary of representation that has remained constant in his work.
In 1980 Mihail traveled to Africa where he cast a live, wild bull elephant. The elephant was never harmed. He incorporated the cast of the elephant in creating the Cast the Sleeping Elephant bronze sculpture given to the United Nations as a gift by Kenya, Namibia and Nepal. Installed at garden of United Nations Headquarters, New York, November 18, 1998.
THE MINOTAUR. Through a series of bronze sculptures and works on paper begun in 1987, Mihail uses the Minotaur as emblem to expand upon and question the enigma of creativity. For him the Minotaur is the link between nature and man's creativity, somewhere in the labyrinth from the time of his birth to the time of his violent death lies hidden the key to our destiny. He is the link because creativity requires man to draw upon the uncivilized self, to explore the animality of being human. The series include a variety of sculptures, paintings and prints.
The ROCKETSHIPS SERIES begun in 1982 consist of large charcoal works on paper, yellow pad drawings and metal sculptures. They were first exhibited in Stockholm in 1983. Fifteen years later (1998) Mihail returned to the subject and painted 20 more Rocket ships on canvas.
In 1989 Mihail lost his New York studio and for the next four years lived and worked in Millbrook, NY. The change of scenery and circumstance opened for him a new line of thought. He completed several, still in plaster, sculptures: a 17 feet high Minotaur, The Garden Of The Lost Snake, Grand Duke and Young Man With Leopard In Mind. He also printed a Minotaur Portfolio of nine prints and a number of other print editions.
His recently completed animalistic TRUMPETER was exhibited in March, 2002 by Cross Path Culture, New York.
- Dimensions: 23 3/4"H x 19 1/4"W
- Medium: lithograph
Accepted Forms of Payment:
ACH, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer
Shipping
Shipping and removal are the sole responsibility of the buyer. Shipping is available by request through a third party shipping service, Shipping Saint. Please contact our office if you would like to arrange your own shipping. Buyers will not automatically receive a shipping invoice. You will be sent a separate invoice for shipping once your initial invoice is paid and your items are packed and ready to ship. Shipping is invoiced via Shipping Saint and cannot be combined with your auction invoice.
Shipping Saint can be contacted at [email protected] or via phone, 317-644-6088.
PICKUP: Pickup is by appointment only. Items are subject to storage fees if they are not removed from premises within 10 business days. If items require shipping, arrangements and removal must be completed within 15 business days.
Ripley Auctions
You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.
View full terms and conditions
| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $99 | $10 |
| $100 | $199 | $20 |
| $200 | $499 | $25 |
| $500 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $2,999 | $100 |
| $3,000 | $4,999 | $200 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $29,999 | $1,000 |
| $30,000 + | $2,500 |