MARTINA VACHEVA
MITCH BREZOUNEK
YOU’VE GOT THE POTION,
I’VE GOT THE REMEDY
Folk Medicine against Uradisali and Ogradisali (Detail)
2025, acrilyc on canvas, 125 x 125 cm
Opening reception:
Friday 21 March 18.00 – 21.00
Martina Vacheva’s latest works delve into Bulgarian folklore, ancient healing rituals, and historical myths, drawing inspiration from an original text from 1890, „On Bulgarian Folk Medicine“(Нещо по българската народна медицина) by Tsani Ginchev, published in the (СБНУ) Volume III. Her feverish compositions reinterpret folk medicine’s mystical potions and bizarre remedies, blending them with grotesque figures and symbolic imagery. By channeling the raw energy of folk storytelling, Vacheva blurs the boundaries between superstition and reality, creating a vivid, unsettling visual language rooted in tradition yet pulsing with contemporary urgency.
Mitch Brezounek, in contrast, stretches the human form into grotesque, biomorphic figures caught between indulgence and decay, humor and horror. His paintings revel in the absurd and the visceral, transforming the body into an exaggerated, theatrical entity engaged in surreal rituals. Through exaggerated gestures and chaotic compositions, Brezounek constructs an uncanny world where the boundaries of identity and transformation are constantly shifting. His work carries a darkly satirical edge, exposing the fragile relationship between excess, control, and the grotesque.
Together, Vacheva and Brezounek craft a world where transformation is inevitable—whether through folklore’s mystical potions or the body’s visceral mutations. Their works unfold like fever dreams, oscillating between enchantment and absurdity, between remedy and affliction.
Martina Vacheva (b. 1988, Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a graduate of the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, specializing in Illustration and Book Graphics. Her work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions, including Keeping the Balance at Museum Ludwig, Budapest (2020), How to Deal with the World at Wilhelm Hallen, Berlin Art Week (2022), and Collections in Dialogue at Prague City Gallery (2024). She has held solo exhibitions at Museum Folkwang, Essen; and ICA Sofia, among others. Vacheva was awarded the 2017 BAZA Young Visual Artists Award and has participated in the 33rd Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts. Her work is included in the collections of Art Collection Telekom, Museum Folkwang, and the Metropolitan Museum Library Collection, New York.
Mitch Brezounek (b. 1989, France) is an artist based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. A graduate of the National Academy of Art in Brittany, France, he was a member of the underground art collective Ouest Fisting. His practice spans painting, ceramics, video installation, and animation. He has exhibited at institutions such as Goethe Institut Bulgaria and ICA Sofia.
His solo exhibitions include We Love Russia at Point Blank Gallery, Plovdiv (2016), Incubus at Aether Art Space, Sofia (2017), and How to Become the Best Artist in the World at ICA Sofia (2021). Brezounek’s work often carries a satirical edge, critiquing contemporary society through exaggerated and grotesque visual narratives.