Contemporary Art in the Public Domain: Continuous Renegotiation of Relations
Barbara Steiner in conversation with Vanessa Joan Müller
The Bronze House by Plamen Dejanoff was officially opened in October 2018. It is a large sculpture on the Alexander Battenberg Square in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Inspiration for the modular construction was drawn from traditional Bulgarian architecture, and it is conceived as a work of art in public space that also thematises the important history of the square located in the centre of the city.
The Alexander Battenberg Square holds a prominent position in Bulgarian history, from the time after the Liberation to the present day. It was the venue of parades, marches, but also of protests, and served many regimes as a backdrop for political representation. The Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum characterised the square for several decades, but was demolished in 1999. This prominent void is now occupied by Plamen Dejanoff’s Bronze House.
Barbara Steiner and Vanessa Joan Müller discuss in Sofia’s National Gallery the impact that art in public space can have on its social environment, and how history and cultural memory are addressed by art.
Moderated by Luchezar Boyadjiev
Location: The National Gallery, Kvadrat 500
Lecture Hall, 5. Floor
Entrance via Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia