Ivan Moudov is a multidisciplinary artist from Sofia, Bulgaria.
His artistic practice comprises photography, video, performance and installation. In his work the artist questions the field of contemporary art within the system of power, as well as the socio-political and economic conditions, providing a critical and corrosive analysis on political and social conventions, as well as questioning individual behaviour.
Deconstructing the usual chain reaction of actions and facts, judging and analyzing them in a playful way, Moudov underlines the ambiguity of the real and the inadequacy of instruments of interpretation. Furthermore, by subverting the existing norms and rules of the contemporary world, he aims at revealing their functioning and analyze them critically.
Ivan Moudov graduated from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in 2002.
In the same year, he participated in Manifesta 4 in Frankfurt and has since then exhibited widely in Europe and across the globe. In 2005 he took part in the 1st Moscow Biennale and in 2007 he represented the Bulgarian Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale.
His work was exhibited in numerous solo and group shows such as:
Ivan Moudov curated by Ulf Eriksson at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm (2008), Wine for Openings, Cabaret Voltaire, Zürich (2010); The Watchmen, the Liars, the Dreamers, curated by Guillaume Désanges at the Plateau−Frac Île−de−France; Contemporary Icons Recent Art From Bulgaria curated by J. Hughes, Hunt Gallery, St. Louis, USA (2012); We Should Have Never Left (Uganda) Collective, at MUMOK, Vienna (2013). Moreover, after an experience at RAVE Residency, he presented his final work The One-Man Show at Casa Cavazzini, Udine, Italy in 2013. In the same year, he was nominated for the Blumm Prize.
In 2014 his work was on display in Indifferent show, at Sariev Contemporary, Plovdiv, Bulgaria and in 2015 he had a solo show, Certificate of Authenticity at Tobacna 001 CC, Ljubljana, Slovenia. In the same year he took part in OFF - Biennale Budapest, Hungary and Grammar of Freedom / Five Lessons: Works From Arteast 2000 + Collection, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia.
In 2016 he performed Performing an Exhibition at MSU, Zagreb, Croatia and exhibited at Sofia Art Gallery with the solo show Exchange. In 2017 he took part in A Romance with Revolution, curated by A. Patsey and F. Motz, at Museum of Non Conformist Art, in Saint Petersburg, Russia and Témpano, El problema de lo institucional - Cruces entre Europa del Este y el Río de la Plata, at MACMO, Montevideo, Uruguay.
In March 2018, he exhibited his work in a solo show at the Armory Show, New York, in Alberta Pane Gallery's booth. In the same year, he took part in From the Cabinet of Curiosities to the Curatorial Situation at Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, and in Anima(L)rave at Villa Manin, Centro d'Arte Contemporanea, Codroipo, Italy, curated by Daniele Capra, Isabella and Tiziana Pers.
In 2019 Ruhr Ding: Territories at Urbane Künste Ruhr, Bochum, Germany and Animai Libars Vigne in the Museum Manzano in Udine, Italy.
In 2020 he exhibited in the group shows Herbert Müller-Guttenbrunn - Alphabet Des Anarchistischen Amateurs at the Raumimpuls Stadtgalerie in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Austria and Ruhr Ding: Territories at the Urbane Künste Ruhr, Bochum, Germany.
In 2022, he took part in the Manifesta 14 biennial in Prishtina, Kosovo (curator: Catherine Nichols), as well as the double solo exhibition Double Face, at Structura Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria ; and several group shows such as Virus Diary, at the Multicultural Center of the University of Transylvania, Brasov, Romania and the Occupy #3 NETWORKS festival in New York City, USA ; Three Colors, at National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria and One Minute Stalker at Toplocentrala, Sofia, Bulgaria.
In 2023 he has exhibited his works in I Wish It Was Mine group show, at Galerie Alberta Pane, Venice, Italy and Kitesurfing Injuries: Recasting Misfortune solo show, at One Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria.
This year he is taking part in Studies on Hysteria solo show at the Punta Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria and For What it’s Worth group show at The Warehouse, Dallas, USA.
