Presented here are Varbanov’s plasticine models, which were produced in Europe in the 1970’s and acted as sketches for larger fabric works. Some of these larger fabric works were realized while others remained merely models. In these small enigmatic sketches we see the artist’s overlapping sensibilities, both modern and orthodox, organic and galactic, that has since seeped into the works of younger artists in China.

For me the creative process is nothing but the pursuit of perfection … Great emotional and physical effort, energy and persistence are required. However, if tapestry art becomes one’s destiny, it requires one’s whole existence. —Maryn Varbanov (1932-1989)

Maryn Varbanov (born 1932, Bulgaria- died 1989, Beijing) was a powerful but often overlooked fixture of the China ’85 New Wave Movement. He actively contributed to the greater Avant-Garde dialogue both as a prolific artist and a beloved teacher, influencing artists such as Gu Wenda, Liang Shaoji, and Shi Hui as well as the young curator, Hou Hanru in their formative years. Yet his works achieved a remarkable feat of artistic liberation, taking tapestry off the wall and moving it into the space commanded by sculpture.

As for Varbanov’s work, opportunities to see it remain frustratingly few. His family have donated a small number of pieces to the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou and a small show of his drawings and minor works was curated by the director of Factory 798’s HT Gallery, Han Tsungwoo. Varbanov died trying to seek truth by reaching beyond the physical limits of his chosen medium. He once wrote: “When the technical effects of the realization of an artistic creation get control of the author, then the circle of his creative development closes. And that is why I believe that in creative work, the artist’s quest is always to find himself: it is the unit of measure of his next step.” It was a quest that filled his brief life to the very end, and lives on to this day in the work of those he inspired (An excerpt from PERPETUAL MOTION: THE LIFE AND ART OF MARYN VARBANOV, Post in: Features | August 1 , 2010 | Tag in: LEAP 4 | TEXT: Madeleine O’Dea).

About the exhibition

Date: Nov 20, 2015 - Jan 6, 2016

Opening: Nov 20, 2015, 18:00, Friday

Venue: Bank

Courtesy of Bank.