P H O T O S
Burlesque (Бурлеска). Soft pastel, fungi (Astraeus macedonicus, Etheirodon fimbriatum, Junghuhnia nitida, Terana caerulea, Trametes cinnabarina, Peniophora incarnata, Trichaptum sp. and 4 unidentified species) and lichens Usnea sp. and Cladonia sp. on handmade fungal paper. 38 x 37 cm; 2021. Inscriptions from The Letters of Sylvia Plath, volumes I (2017) – letter to Aurelia Plath, 8 July 1945, and II (2018) – letter to Elizabeth Sigmund Sept 8, 1962. Quotes at the suggestion of Gail Crowther and Peter K. Steinberg. Kristina Zimbakova’s solo art show, entitled "Rising Vowels", was mounted at the Research Dissemination Centre of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, on 20th May, 2022. The display was part of the international Sylvia Plath & Trans-Atlanticism Symposium, and it presented Zimbakova's artworks informed by the poetry and letters of Plath - a landmark 20th century American poetess. The paintings have been created in the last couple of years, in the technique mixed-media on canvas or on fungal paper handmade by the artist. The exhibit was curated by Prof. Emily Van Duyne from the USA, who is currently a Fulbright Visiting Fellow at Aristotle University in Greece.
P H O T O S
6 Nov - 2 Dec 2020
Razklon Gallery, Rhodope Mountains Bulgaria The art exhibit is mounted in the open in an experimental glass case – Razklon Gallery, in Eastern Rhodope Mts in Bulgaria. The show locality is at 500 m alt on a dirt road crossroads between the mountain villages of Tsarino, Corbadjisko and Valchanka, near the Greek border. It is curated by the Dutch-Bulgarian art foundation Stichting Tsarino. The showcase comprises four symbolic and lyrical mixed-media paintings on paper from wood-inhabiting fungi handmade by the artist. The site-specific works on display Sanctuary, Crucified Cliff, Yoked Tree and Night has Donned Her Mantle of Black were created in 2019 and 2020, and they are installed dependent on the position of the sun. Fungi and lichens are the major media, applied for drawing figures or creating a mosaic, besides acrylic, pastel and charcoal. The fungi, some of them rare or endemic, have been obtained during personal forays in Macedonian mountains, in collaboration with bio-scientists. The careful use of fungi and lichen specimens blended into a new, art context also seeks to raise awareness of these enigmatic organisms with extraordinary forms, essential to life on Earth. PHOTO GALLERY On 2 June 2019, Zimbakova mounted an an art exhibit entitled 'She Flew the Kite', in the open at 1,740 m alt., right below the summit Secena Skala, one of the most impressive and most inspiring spots in the steep Belasica Mountain in southeastern Macedonia. The show locality was on the country's state borderline with Greece. Thirty-two new mixed-media paintings were on display, primarily consisting of the series The Caged Heart, She Flew the Kite and Microscopic Slides. Fungi and lichens are the chief medium, encompassed for drawing figures or creating a mosaic. The material has been collected during personal forays or from fungaria, in cooperation with bioscientists, especially regarding species identification. Diverse species from Belasica Mt in Macedonia have been applied but also rare or endemic species from Argentina, Antarctica, the subtropical lands of Australia with Tasmania, the USA, the foot of the Himalayas in India, Croatia. An endemic alga from South Africa has also been incorporated. The artworks have been created on handmade fungal paper. The careful use of fungi and lichen specimens from all over the globe blended into a new, art context with figurative and lyrical expression also seeks to raise the awareness of these miraculous, enigmatic organisms with extraordinary forms. PHOTO GALLERY Series title: ‘The Caged Heart’ (19 works). Pastel, charcoal, fungi and lichens on handmade hard cardboard from the fungi Ganoderma sp., Bjerkandera adusta and Coriolopsis trogii. 22 x 10 cm each. Year 2018. Fungi: Astraeus macedonicus (new to science from Macedonia), Clathrus ruber (California, USA), Gloeoporus taxicola (Macedonia; Tasmania, Australia), Hypocrea aff. megalosulphurea (Tasmania, Australia), Hyphodontia sp. (1), (2) (Tasmania, Australia), Hypoxylon crocopeplum (Tasmania, Australia), Hypoxylon aff. rubiginosum (Tasmania, Australia), Junghuhnia nitida (Tasmania, Australia), Lenzites betulina (Macedonia), Microporus xanthopus (New South Wales, Australia), Morchella elata (Croatia), Peniophora incarnata (Macedonia), Phlebiopsis crassa (Croatia), Serpula himantioides (Croatia), Terana caerulea (Croatia), Trametopsis cervina (Macedonia), Trametes coccinea (New South Wales, Australia),Tulostoma brumale (Macedonia), Xylodon australis (Tasmania, Australia). Lichens: Protousnea magellanica, endemic to southern South America (Rio Grande, Argentina), Usnea antarctica, endemic to Antarctica (King George Island, Antarctica), Usnea aurantiaco-atra (King George Island, Antarctica), Usnea sp. (New South Wales, Australia), Xanthoparmelia sp. (Macedonia). Fungi and lichens courtesy of: Prof. Alfredo Passo, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina; Dr Genevieve Gates, University of Tasmania, Australia; Pita Boronski, NSW, Australia; Miro Pucar, Croatia; Sally Ohlin, California, USA. Series title: 'Microscopic Slides' (‘Микроскопски стакленца’).
Soft pastel, seashell from Cape Town, South Africa, fungi and lichens on handmade fungal paper. Dimensions: 32 x 17 cm each. 2018 / 2019. Fungi and lichens: Antrodia sp., Coriolopsis trogii, Fuscoporia ferruginosa, Hypomyces rosellus, Hyphodontia sp., Hypoxylon howeanum, Trametes cinnabarina, Terana caerulea, Vuilleminia comedens and 8 unidentified species; Protousnea magellanica (Rio Grande, Argentina, endemic to southern South America), Evernia prunastri, Lobaria pulmonaria, Pseudevernia sp., Rhizocarpon sp., Usnea sp.. Paper made from a mixture of wood-inhabiting fungi. Lichen P.magellanica courtesy of Prof. Alfredo Passo, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina. Seashell courtesy of Suzana Nolte. Art series title: 'She Flew the Kite' (‘Ја извишила фортуната’).
Pastel, charcoal, fungi and lichens on handmade fungal paper. Dimensions: 32 x 17 cm each. Created in autumn 2018. Applied fungi and lichens: Оphiocordyceps sinensis (India, endemic to Tibetan Plateau), Crucibulum laeve, Terana caerulea, Astraeus macedonicus (new to science from Macedonia), Phlebia radiata, Hyphodontia sp., Hypoxylon fragiforme, Antrodia sp., Marasmius rotula, Clathrus ruber (California, the USA), Trametes cinnabarina, Fuscoporia ferruginosa and 4 unidentified species; Protousnea magellanica (Rio Grande, Argentina, endemic to southern South America), Pseudevernia sp., Lobaria pulmonaria, Xanthoparmelia sp.. Fungi for paper: Аntrodia serialis, Ganoderma sp., Lentinus strigosus, Coriolopsis trogii, Trametes cervina, Trametes hirsuta. A number of fungi and lichens courtesy of: Dr. Nirmal Harsh, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India; Prof. Alfredo Passo, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina; Sally Ohlin, California, USA. Venue: School of Art at Ulster University
Place: Belfast, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom. Time:9-12 Nov, 2017; 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. The solo art exhibit 'Poems, Suitcases' is within the international Conference 'Sylvia Plath: Letters, Words and Fragments', which is to celebrate the publication of The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 1. It is organised by the School of Art at Ulster University, Belfast. Dr Maeve O’Brien, the exhibit curator, says: ‘We are thrilled to show Kristina Zimbakova's artwork at the Sylvia Plath Conference 2017 in Belfast. The art college at Ulster University has a long and prestigious history and Zimbakova's work reflects the experimental and imaginative ethos of our institution. The art itself is fascinating - a truly philosophical meditation on the work of Plath wrought through in creative practice. The centrepiece, the suitcase from which 'Poems, Suitcases' derives its title, is perplexing and conjures to mind the words Plath wrote as well as the passionate fury and destruction she exacted in her poetry. Zimbakova's drawings are at times tender, poetic and beautiful - illustrating her exceptional artistic qualities and the vivacity of her work. It is a privilege to exhibit work of this quality and passion in Belfast and I am hopeful that this will be the first of many creative interactions between Ireland and Macedonia via Ulster University’. EXHIBITION PHOTO ALBUM The art installation entitled ‘Poems, Suitcases’ consists of a sculptural painting (suitcase) and nineteen drawings. They are all mixed media on canvas and paper (acrylic, pastel, graphite, natural resin, USA and Macedonian postal stamps and seals, hemp fibre, shredded paper, metal, leather, lichens Pseudevernia sp., Evernia prunastri, Usnea sp., Cladonia sp., Xanthoria parietina, Lobaria pulmonaria). The lichens are courtesy of the Macedonian Mycological Society. The dimensions of the drawings are 18 x 10 cm (the first two) and 21 x 10 cm while of the sculpture - 30 x 40 x 8.5 cm. Created in 2012/2013. The installation is informed by Plath’s essay ''A Comparison'': ''And there is really so little room! So little time! The poet becomes an expert packer of suitcases: '' … ''There it is: the beginning and the end in one breath.'' (Plath 1977, 26). ''- a door opens, a door shuts. In between you have had a glimpse'' (Plath 1977, 26). ''The door of the novel, like the door of the poem, also shuts. But not so fast, nor with such manic, unanswerable finality'' (Plath 1977, 26). The artwork title is a variation of Plath’s poem ''Poems, Potatoes.'' The sculpture is loaded with shredded paper, which stands for the intimate artistic process and creative chaos, from which the poet engenders a supreme order and a gem. The hand-written poem on the suitcase is ''Mushrooms'', courtesy of Plath scholar Peter K. Steinberg. The 19 drawings epitomise the unloaded elusive mail from the poetry suitcase. Each piece contains inscriptions of titles of signature Plath poems or central notions in her poetry. The order arrangement of the pieces creates a story. In keeping with the poem ''Mushrooms'', the wording is made of lichens, which are a symbiotic association between fungi and an alga or cyanobacterium. The closing lines of this poem, ''We shall by morning / Inherit the earth./ Our foot’s in the door.'' (Plath 1981, 139) have an underlying purport I also aim to convey with the current object: the mesmerising power of poetry via fungi as symbols of poems. Works cited Plath, Sylvia. Collected Poems. Ed. Ted Hughes. London: Faber and Faber. 1981. Print. Plath, Sylvia. "The Novelist and the Poet." The Listener. July 7, 1977: 26. Print. --------------------------------------------------- Место: Факултет за уметност при Универзитетот 'Алстер', Белфаст, Северна Ирска Време: 9-12 ноември 2017 год.; 9:00 - 20:00 ч. Изложбата е во рамките на светската Конференција за Силвија Плат, насловена 'Писма, зборови, фрагменти', чија цел е да го одбележи објавувањето на 'Писмата на Силвија Плат', том 1. Организирана е од Факултетот за уметност при Универзитетот 'Алстер' во Белфаст. * * * Инсталацијата 'Песни, куфери' е поттикната од творештвото на влијателната американска поетеса Силвија Плат (1932-1963), и се состои од скулптура-куфер и 19 цртежи. Изработени се во комбинирана техника на платно и хартија (акрил, пастел, графит, борова смола, кожа, американска поштенска марка со С. Плат од 2012 год. и печат, македонска марка и печат, иситнета хартија, метал, влакна од коноп, лишаи Pseudevernia sp., Evernia prunastri, Usnea sp., Cladonia sp., Xanthoria parietina, Lobaria pulmonaria). Димензиите на цртежите се 18 x 10 cm и 21 x 10 cm а скулптурата 30 x 40 x 8.5 cm. Лишаите се добиени од Македонското миколошко друштво. Година 2012/2013. Инспирација за инсталацијата е есејот 'Споредба' од С. Плат: 'И навистина има толку малку простор! Толку малку време! Поетот станува махер за пакување куфери: '… 'И еве ги: почетокот и крајот во еден здив.' (Plath 1977, 26) '- вратата се отвора, вратата се затвора. Во меѓувреме, си фрлил поглед'. (Plath 1977, 26) 'И вратата на романот, како вратата на песната, се затвора. Но не толку бргу, ниту со таква манична, непоимна конечност'. (Plath 1977, 26) Насловот на делото е варијација на песната 'Песни, компири' од Плат. Скулптурата е наполнета со иситнета хартија, што го означува интимниот уметнички процес и креативен хаос, од кои поетот создава возвишен ред и ремек-дело. Песната своерачно испишана на куферот е ''Габи'', од страна на Питер К. Стајнберг - истражувач на Плат; 19-те цртежи се олицетворение на таинствените пратки од распакуваниот куфер на поезијата. Секој цртеж содржи натписи со наслови од истакнати песни од Плат или клучни концепти во нејзиното творештво. Редоследот на сликите создава приказна. Во тон со песната 'Габи', текстот е сочинет од лишаи, што претставуваат симбиоза меѓу две габи и алга или цијанобактерија. Завршните стихови од песната, 'Ние до утрината/ ќе ја наследиме земјата./ Веќе сме на прагот.' носат суштинска порака што е и мото на оваа поставка: чудесната моќ на поезијата преку габите како симбол за песните. Цитирани дела Plath, Sylvia. Collected Poems. Ed. Ted Hughes. London: Faber and Faber. 1981. Plath, Sylvia. "The Novelist and the Poet." The Listener. July 7, 1977: 26. Time: 2-6 Oct 2017 Venue: Hotel Tino-St Stefan, Ohrid, Macedonia The art exhibition in Ohrid (a UNESCO World Heritage Natural and Cultural Site) was held within the scientific Meeting entitled: 'Fungal Conservation in a Changing Europe: the Challenges Ahead,' organised by the European Mycological Association and the International Society for Fungal Conservation. The event was hosted by Ss Cyril and Methodius University from Skopje.
Fungi and lichens are the most dominant medium in the twenty-two mixed-media artworks on display. The visual language is symbolic and lyrically-expressive. Visually-arresting or endangered species from Macedonia have been applied, coupled by rare or endemic species from the USA, South America, the subtropical part of Australia, the Arctic and even Antarctica. A large body of work has been created on fungal paper and pulp handmade by the author while some paintings have been done on mycofoam - biomaterial manufactured from fungal mycelium and agricultural residues. Fungi and lichens have been sourced from dry collections or via personal field research, in cooperation with both the Macedonian Mycological Society from the Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics in Skopje and overseas scientists. The scientific name and geographic provenance are included in the description of each art piece. Sustainability comes first, the hope being that prudent use of fungi specimens in an art context will also contribute for awareness-raising of these often overlooked but indispensable and simultaneously fascinating organisms. PHOTO GALLERY 31 March - 13 April 2017
Opening: 7:30 p.m., 31 March 2017 Venue: Marko Cepenkov Gallery, Prilep An interdisciplinary approach to visual art prevails in the thirty artworks on display - a blend of painting, poetry and natural science. All these mixed-media paintings have been created in the last two years. The landmark features of the artworks are the symbolic and expressive visual language, interweaving of poetry references from playwright Blagoja Risteski - Platnar and poet Anne Sexton, coupled by fungi and lichens as dominant media. A sizable body of work has been created on handmade paper and pulp from fungi whereas some paintings have been done on mycofoam, which is biomaterial made of fungal mycelium and agricultural residues. Fungi and lichens have been sourced from dry collections or via personal field research, in collaboration with scientists from Macedonia and abroad. Not only have interesting or rare species from Macedonia been applied but also from the USA, South America, the Arctic and Antarctica. Photographs from the exhibition can be found here. Opening remarks by Prof. Ferid Muhic, philosopher and member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, is available for view here. The exhibition catalog can be viewed here. Kristina's installation Concealed Revolution will be part of a group show in the Dancing Hall in Youth Cultural Centre - MKC in Skopje, within the White Night - Night of the Museums, on 3 October 2015. The mass event is under the auspices of the City of Skopje, involving city and national cultural institutions in Skopje that are open throughout the night of 3rd Oct.
Artwork detail: Concealed Revolution ('Потоморена револуција'). Acrylic, charcoal, silk, lichens Pseudevernia sp., Xanthoria parietina and an unidentified lichen on mattress, supported by Fomes fomentarius fungi; 200 x 90 x 17 cm; 2014. Due to inclement weather, the exhibit envisaged for Golem Grad Island in Lake Prespa on 22 May 2015 has instead been installed in the open at Stenje Pier. The exhibition is generously supported by the Office of the United Nations Development Programme in Macedonia. Fungi and lichens as media prevail in all artworks on display, and some works are informed by Golem Grad Island (also known as Snake Island) or they incorporate rare or interesting fungi species distinctive of this desert island. The artworks are characterised by expressive and symbolic representations, and they also include poetry references. The fungi and lichens have been obtained from dry collections or during personal forays, in collaboration with scientists from the Mycological Laboratory within the Faculty of Natural Science in Skopje. A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant. In this relationship, the fungus obtains some of its sugars from the plant, while the plant benefits from the uptake of mineral nutrients or water by the fungal hyphae. Тhere can be circumstances where the fungus is weakly pathogenic, and others in which the plant feeds from the fungus. * * * In my art practice I often use fungi and lichens as media, obtained from dry collections or harvested during personal forays, and in collaboration with scientists who also assist in species identification. I have always found mesmerising the fungi mysterious and resilient ways of existence in nature along with the plethora of stupendous forms. To me, their extraordinariness perfectly corresponds with the alluring desert island of Golem Grad Island in Lake Prespa, with its out-of-this-world ambient owing to the pristine Grecian juniper forest, the rare fungi, abundance of snakes and the omnipresent sound of cormorants. Several artworks are informed by the island itself, and significant fungi from Golem Grad are applied to express both feelings of ecstasy and suffering or render symbolic representations. The largest work in the show - 'Poems, Suitcases', consists of a suitcase-painting and 19 miniatures, and it is inspired by the oeuvre of the American poet Sylvia Plath and her poem ''Mushrooms''. The inscriptions in the art installation are made of lichens, which are a symbiotic association between two fungal species and an alga or cyanobacterium. The closing lines of this poem, ''We shall by morning / Inherit the earth./ Our foot’s in the door.'', have an underlying purport I aim to convey: the fascinating power of poetry via fungi as symbols of poems. I maintain that the aesthetics of nature can faithfully epitomise human states of mind and heart, and that they are intrinsically related just as many fungi and plants are connected in a secretive symbiosis called Mycorrhiza - the title of the current exhibition. For exhibition images, click here . The solo show of Kristina Zimbakova entitled 'Buds in the Storm' was opened in Arch Macedonia (Porta Makedonija) in the centre of Skopje, Macedonia, on 18 November. This is her first solo show in six years and it will run until 1 December 2014. Prof. Ferid Muhic delivered the opening speech. Expressive and symbolic works in mixed media with rich texture are on display, created in the last couple of years, along with a few older works not exhibited before. Kristina Zimbakova participates at the 13th Triennial EKOPLAGÁT, organised at the Museum of Art in Žilina, Slovakia. The Triennial's focus is on art posters on environment and nature conservation in order to raise awareness of biodiversity and environmental issues. The exhibition runs from 30th October until 30th November 2014. The event is under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, and it showcases 102 posters by 49 authors from 20 countries. To view a gallery of all exhibited works, click here. Kristina's participation has been generously supported by the Macedonian Ecological Society.
Kristina's work was part of the Group Show of Young Artists in Gallery 8 - Bezisten, in the Old Bazaar in Skopje, within the 10th edition of White Night, on 4 October 2014. The large-scale event is organised by the Youth Cultural Centre, and it is under the auspices of the City of Skopje. It involves city and national cultural institutions that accept visitors throughout the night.
Kristina Zimbakova participated in the first edition of Paratissima Skopje, entitled Connections, at the Youth Cultural Centre in Skopje, Macedonia, 13 - 15 June 2014. She showcased her large-scale painting The Rascal in Me (Carlito Brigante), informed by the notion of the double (doppelganger) within ourselves and the challenges of this peculiar coexistence.
Paratissima is an event that promotes art and creativity in all its forms, established 10 years ago in Torino. Paratissima Skopje is a collaboration with Paratissima Torino, aimed at opening an exchange channel for art, creativity and ideas between Macedonia and Italy. |
PainterKristina Zimbakova (1975) is a Macedonian visual artist. Her art practice is interdisciplinary: poetry references along with fungi as media are significant features of her work. Zimbakova creates symbolic and figurative mixed-media paintings with rich texture, which often sit in between the borders of painting and sculpture. Supporters1. Soloprom Archives
May 2022
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