Colorful objects hang from the ceiling. Lazar Lyutakov made them out of kitchen utensils. Bowls, sieves, cups and containers are stacked, cut, and stuck together to form a composite. To finish, the plastic cones, cylinders and bowls are cabled and built-in light bulbs make them glow. Lyutakov, who, together with Rada Boukova represented Bulgaria at the 2019 Venice Biennial, engages with the aesthetic and economic value of fabrics and material, and with the question of design. Many of his objects, which in darkened rooms give off viscous colors, seem as if they came from fancy design stores. Through their simplicity and elegance, they are reminiscent of sample pieces of modern interior design, their cables hanging in the room of lines in drawings. On the one hand, the display emphasizes the function of the lamps, while on the other, it creates a sensitive colorful collage, three-dimensional and poetically soothing like the mobiles of Alexander Calder.

Lazar Lyutakov has been constructing these types of objects in various formats since 2008. Different associations emerge from the colors, forms, and contrasting materialities. One could see one series as “Scandinavian”, while interpreting others as more in the direction of classic Modernity. For this presentation, objects were chosen that conjure up memories of Jugendstil, or perhaps of Venetian palazz. This deception of perception, the supposed attribution of what has already been seen, is also one of the questions raised by these plastic objects. But it is also about economy and ecology. The global exchange of goods is just as much a focus as energy consumption and the use of questionable and environmentally harmful substances. What do recycling and energy consumption mean today?

Thomas D. Trummer, 2019 (translation: Virginia Dellenbaugh)