| Igor Josifov, a Macedonian-born artist based in San Francisco, began his career as a performance artist. He has now interwoven performance art and creating artworks with fire on paper. Curator Hanna Regev states, “The burned paper works are inseparable from the act of performance. Here the artist successfully merges the two art disciplines to create something that is arresting in its sheer power of beauty and magic.” Regev shares the view of many observers that performance art is a recognized force in shaping many artistic developments in contemporary art and revitalizing interest in museums by drawing new and young audiences to their galleries.
Josifov’s burned
paper images focus on the human face and body, sometimes capturing
the essence of iconic figures such as Nelson Mandela and Yoko Ono.
Other burned paper pieces with many faces have the feeling of a
river of images, a fluidity one would not expect to be created with
fire. Taming Fire includes burned paper artworks, a mixed
media installation, videos of Josifov’s performance work, and photolithographic
plates created in collaboration with Anne Olsen during a recent
artist-in-residency in Wisconsin.
Two special events are scheduled: At 2 pm on Sunday, July 26, Josifov will offer a short performance showcasing his mastery of taming fire as applied to three layers of heavy archival sheets of paper. Following the performance, the artist will share reflections on his rich experience with performance art and his place in the 100 years of performance art history.
Then at 4 pm on Sunday,
August 16, Josifov, with curator Hanna Regev, will discuss his paper
burning process and a new body of work, also in Taming Fire—the
photolithographic plates produced in collaboration with Anne Olson.
See more of Josifov’s work at www.igor-josifov.com.
Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Boulevard in Pacifica, 1.5 miles east of Highway 1. Following opening night, the galleries are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, and by appointment, through August 16.
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