STILIANA ALEXIEVA
PAPER SCULPTURES
Two of Stiliana’s books sculptures are currently exhibited at the
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2024.
About the competition
Run without interruption since 1769, the RA Summer Exhibition is the world's largest and most prestigious art competition.
In recent years, the exhibition has featured new works by Royal Academicians, Honorary Academicians and artists, including David Hockney RA, Wolfgang Tillmans, Tracey Emin, Bruce Nauman, Wim Wenders and Ed Ruscha.
The 2024 exhibition schedule of the Royal Academy includes Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Angelica Kauffman and the Summer Exhibition of contemporary art.
Exhibited works
About the Paper sculptures
'Some of my recent work explores the idea of finding a calm resolution by morphing an object to exhaustion. I am absorbed by the notion of change and the thrill of a balance between permanence and impermanence of shape and form.
Example of this are my book studies where books are guillotine sliced, folded, beeswax ‘mummified’ and forceshaped.
Once messengers of thoughts and stories, the pages are transformed into abstract geometrical presenters of shape, form, composition and messengers of new concepts.
Gallery with Paper Sculptures
Through creating short-lived collapsable book sculptures, I explore the notion of the ’present moment’. The books take an articulated structure whose concrete way only exists in the hand of the artist and for a short period of time. I can interpret this as a physical metaphor of the spiritual Buddhist wisdom that I recently studied while living in a monastery in Nepal. It speaks of time as an illusion and of the ‘Now’, nested between past and future, ‘as the most precious thing, as it is the only thing there is’.
As part of this project, Stiliana has assembled the following small collection of limited edition prints.
Book Series Prints
All works are:
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Limited Edition of 50
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Size 50 x 70 cm
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Printed on 305gsm Paper
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Each print is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity.
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Unfraimed
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£350 each
In situation
By erecting shapes and letting them go, I create a metaphor for the present moment, but also I challenge the viewers' attachment to permanency and impermanency. I play with the idea that the only permanent thing in life is Change. The foldable sculpture concept and the participating image of the hands in the pieces creates a flirtatious resemblance with some of the works of Ligia Clark.
The book studies I would like to be seen not only in the context of my own work but also against the background of all the efforts that artists made, in the wake of Futurism, Constructivism and Dadaism, to question the traditional structure and function of the book and turn it into an autonomous object. Examples range from Sonia Delaunay's book fold 'La prose du Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France' of 1913, Alison Knowles' 'The Big Book', Dieter Rot's books and sausages 'Literaturwurste', the assemblages of a book form made by Wolf Vostell, Bernard Aubertin's 'Livre Brûlé', of course not forgetting Franz Erhard Walther, 'Werksatz' and Hubertus Gojowczyk's library door bricked up with books 'Door to the library'.
In addition you can follow me on Instagram - @stilianaalexievaart
To discuss ideas for commissions and collaborations