Bulgarian artist Nikolay Deliyanev presents Boundary Illusion at Durrës Biennale

Bulgarian artist Nikolay Deliyanev will represent Bulgaria at the second International Biennale of Contemporary Art, which opens on October 1 in the Albanian city of Durrës. The prestigious forum on the Adriatic coast will run through the end of October under the theme “Periphery: Visual Transitions.”

Nikolay Deliyanev will personally present his triptych “Boundary Illusion” in the Bulgarian Pavilion, housed at the historic “Nikolet Vasia” Visual Art Gallery (Galeria e Artit Pamor “Nikolet Vasia”) in the centre of Durrës. The artist, who lives and works between Rome and Bulgaria, will attend the opening on October 1 and will also meet with the public on October 2.

Nikolay Deliyanev’s triptych poses an apparently simple question: Where is the boundary? The answer, however, is far from unequivocal. For the Bulgarian artist, the boundary is not a given, but a construct of perception, shaped by our position, knowledge and imagination.

“Through layering, transparency, blurring and optical tensions, Deliyanev creates an image that resists definitive fixation. The gaze moves between the visible and the invisible, turning the very act of looking into part of the artwork. In this context, the boundary does not divide but connects. It is a place of transition and possibility, a point where an ending may prove to be a beginning. Centre and periphery cease to be absolute categories, because every point can simultaneously be a centre and a boundary. This idea is organically connected with Deliyanev’s artistic language, rooted in the traditions of optical and kinetic art,” cultural scholar Veneta Nenkova, chair of the Parallel 43 cultural association in Rome, told Radio Bulgaria.

She also notes that Nikolay Deliyanev’s artistic biography includes participation in prestigious art forums such as the Biennales in Genoa, Viterbo, Anzio and Nettuno, as well as his being a finalist at the 11th International Biennale of Art in Rome.

“In his latest international appearance, artist Nikolay Deliyanev will take us to our own boundary, the one that enables us to perceive the world. For the periphery is not an end, but a horizon, the place where the visible passes into the invisible and the familiar opens towards new possibilities. It is precisely there, beyond the apparent limits of our gaze, that the true space of art begins,” the cultural scholar maintains.

The contemporary art forum in Durrës, which opens on October 1, is being held with the support of Albania’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and the Municipality of Durrës, in cooperation with the embassies of Poland, Kosovo, Brazil and Bulgaria, as well as the Italian Cultural Institute.

Edited by Elena Karkalanova
English version: R. Petkova