STEFAN KARTCHEV
Kartchev bridges seemingly disparate elements, effortlessly combining virtual with physical and intertwining traditional crafts with modern technologies. These contrasts subvert and synergize, strengthening each other harmoniously.
Intrigued by experimentation with volumes and alternative ways of utilizing surfaces, Kartchev immerses printed artworks to enhance or shift the body's perspective. This results in silhouettes submerged in colorful visuals, opening windows to alternative spaces and taking us on a transformative journey through time.
Drawing inspiration from what surrounds us, urban settings that bear traces of human interactions, intentions, and even neglect, he notices compositions that take on a life of their own once the individual has stepped away. Identifying these scenarios, Kartchev crafts new narratives, utilizing ready-mades as sources to inspire ideas in textile, configurations, graphical directions, manipulations, and the way future work can be displayed. By recontextualizing certain elements, he weaves fictional stories.
With a keen interest in activewear, his fashion-oriented work challenges the limitation of industrial applications, infusing a playful approach to expand the creative horizons of his collaborators.
Experience includes work for brands such as Coperni, Y-Project, Walter Van Beirendonck, ROMBAUT, Prada, Bioracer Speedwear, and collaborative exchanges with artists such as Gaëtan Rusquet, Sam Rolfes, Michele Rizzo, collective Every Island, and digital fashion platform Mutani. Kartchev’s involvement in artistic projects has been noticed at places such as Design Museum Den Bosch (NL), La Quadriennale di Roma (IT), Dutch Design Week (NL), Bozar (BE), MUDAM (LU) and Casino (LU).
