Exhibition of Simon Shemov “Multiverse” in Daut pasha hamam
“All the time is now”, says the poet and essayist A.D. Hope, fully aware of the complexity woven into poetic imagination, amplified with ideas of the past and the future from the vantage point of the unattainable present. Eternity is the paradox.
Eternity isn’t a physical location, but a mental state in which every second in history is contemplated, as if it’s happening right now. This is true regardless of whether one’s contemplating ancient philosophy at this very minute or perhaps some future possibility based on an intuition experienced at that particular moment, or whether one simply gazes at a star whose light has originated in the past and due to the discourse of time and space, it is visible to us right now, which underestimates the questions about the boundlessness of space in the universe, time, light…
This idea is an announcement of the new visual sensation offered by Simon Shemov, i.e. a decades long artistic production that despite the new “empiricism”, has carried the burden of last year’s experience for more than half a century, with the ontology and anthological significance of a rich artistic credo. The subject of interest here is the latest creative cycle of maestro Simon Shemov, titled “Multiverse”, which mainly deals with the aspects of cosmology and cosmogony, specifically the questions surrounding the emergence and existence of the cosmos and universe and of course, using this general phenomenological semantics, and the specific humanistic existential nature of human beings, the quest towards extracting the special from the general and vice versa, through the subjective and singular towards the boundless.
In the latest opus of 400 works, we can accentuate “four phenomenological aspects that are analogous to his recurring interests through the chronological matrix and appear as threads of discourse throughout his entire artistic opus (from the very beginnings in the mid 60s until today). It concerns his interest and natural indoctrination with pantheism, and consequently and quite logically is followed by fascination with questions about the origin and existence of the universe, and subsequently cosmology/cosmogony as key benchmarks ad acta, then the aspects of the connection between art and the nature of play (i.e. the eternal thirst for exploration, experimentation, animation of self and the audience – with a certain degree of participative direct or indirect input) and semiotics and his passion with exploring and transforming symbols and archetypes.” (Ana Frangovska)
“The challenge of his childhood remains a source of stimulation in his artistic endeavours; it still drives his hunger to explore, which begins with a dot made by pen and ink, and even today, curiously peeks behind the fence, behind his Polyptych, permanently hoping that one day this exploration will lead him to find the answer, the truth of our existence, of all things in existence in this infinite cosmogony. The search continues. And THE END is nowhere in sight. Shemov is enamoured with all living things. This is where his immeasurable obstinacy lies and his unwavering determination to uncover the SURVIVAL in the whole universe, whatever, wherever and however large it may be.” (Sonja Abadzieva)
The opening of the exhibition is on September 27, at 8:00 p.m., at the Daut-Pashin Hammam, and will last until November 27.
The curator of the project is Ana Frangovska.
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Simon Shemov was born in 1941 in Kavadarci, the Republic of Macedonia. In 1963, he graduated at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. He obtained his masters degree in 1971/72 at the Slade School of Fine Arts, London University College in Great Britain. From 1970 until 1981, he taught painting and drawing at the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje, and since 1981, he taught painting, drawing, sculpture, handmade paper (cellulose medium) in the capacity of a lecturer, visiting and regular professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts (painting department) at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius Skopje. Between 1993 and 1995, he was the Dean of the Faculty. During the academic year 1991/92, he taught the course Experimental handmade paper at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, as part of the Fullbright Scholar Programme.
Some of the artistic disciplines which he has mastered are: apart from drawing, painting and creating using handmade paper (cellulose medium), he also practices: graphics, mosaic, installation and artistic interventions.
He has given many individual lectures in the capacity of a guest lecturer at the following institutions: Art Institute Chicago; The Universities of: Boston, Iowa, Tempe, Santa Clara – USA, the Musashino University, Tokyo – Japan, as well as at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Veliko Trnovo – Bulgaria.
Between 1993 and 1998, he led the project titled “Types of cellulose fibres of plant based origin in Macedonia” on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Macedonia. Between 2000 and 2003, he worked as an author and coordinator for the UNESCO and Tempus programmes. The project titled “Cellulose Medium” within the Tempus programme was implemented in partnership with Germany (the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg) and Italy (The Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia).
He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his achievements in fine arts.
Independent exhibitions and interventions with colour:
1964 Rabotnicki Univerzitet, Skopje
1967 Kolarac People’s University, Belgrade, Serbia
Rabotnicki Univerzitet, Skopje
1968 Art Gallery, Skopje
1969 Rabotnicki Univerzitet, Strumica
Drama Theatre (together with D. Percinkov), Skopje
1972 New Line Gallery, Bradford, Great Britain
Yugoslavian Club, London, Great Britain
1973 New 57 Gallery, Edinburgh, Great Britain
Skopje (Petar Mazev studio), first happening in Macedonia (together with N. Fidanovski and D. Boven)
Mount Deshat, spatial interventions, together with N. Fidanovski
Skopje, interventions “Blossoming Boulevard” (together with N. Fidanovski)
1974 Skopje, interventions on the flyover – armatures of the unfinished shopping centre “Most”
1976 Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje
Youth Centre (together with N. Fidanovski), Skopje
1978 City Museum, Kavadarci
1981 Cultural Information Centre, Skopje
1982 Museum of Contemporary Art, (in partnership with N. Fidanovski), Skopje
1983 Prilep (Varosh), Coloured interventions (together with N. Fidanovski)
1984 Butchers “Bace”, Skopje, intervention “In honour of Rembrandt”
Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, retrospective exhibition
Youth Centre, Skopje, New tendencies on the Macedonian fine art scene in the last decade
1985 Art Gallery “Skopje”, Skopje
Modern Gallery, Zrenjanin, Yugoslavia
Skopje (Vodno), intervention (spatial impact of colours)
Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, intervention “Stripes Colour Palette”
1986 Museum of Contemporary Art (in partnership with N. Fidanovski), Skopje
Cultural Centre (in partnership with N. Fidanovski), Bitola
Yugoslavian Cultural Centre, New York, USA
1990 Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, N. Carolina, USA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje graphics (donated by S. Shemov to the Dental Clinic – Skopje)
1994 Open Studio of Tome Adzievski, Skopje
1995 Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje (retrospective exhibition)
2000 Millennium Dome, London, Great Britain
Gallery “Aero”, Skopje
Building of studios, Faculty of Fine Arts, Skopje, “House of the Sun”
2001 Nuremberg, Germany
2002 Pordenone, Italy
2003 Art Gallery “Skopje” – Daut Pasin Amam, Skopje, “Holy Forest”
Art Gallery, Bitola (together with Boris Shemov)
2011 Exhibition space “AEG”, Nuremberg, Germany
Kavadarci, Stip, Prilep
2012 Skopje, National Gallery, Mala Stanica, Simon Shemov and Hans Herpich
2013 Matica Exclusive, Skopje
2023 National Gallery of Macedonia, Skopje, Daut Pasin Amam, “From Singularity to the Universe”
Group Exhibitions
Simon Shemov has taken part in more than 230 group exhibitions in almost all prominent art centres in the world, on all continents.
1966 Strumica, Strumica Art Colony
1967 Novi Sad, Macedonian Art of the youngest generation, Salon Tibine Mladih
Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian Painting – young generation, MoCA
Skopje, Aspects of drawings in Macedonia, MoCA
Belgrade (Serbia), III. Yugoslavian triennial
Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian Art – current trends
Struga, Poetry and Painting Salon
Sofia, IX. International Youth Festival
1968 Skopje, Our Past, Art Gallery
1969 Slovenj Gradec, Avant-garde art in Yugoslavia 1919-69, Art pavilion
Ferrara, Contemporary Macedonian Artists, Ex chiesa di S. Romano
Istanbul, Ankara (Turkey), Contemporary Macedonian Art, Resim ve heykel muzesi
Belgrade; Sarajevo; Zagreb, Contemporary Macedonian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje, 25 years of ASNOM
Strumica; Ohrid, Pieces from the Strumica Art Colony
1970 Skopje, My treasured art work, Art Gallery
Skopje, Paintings and sculptures from the MoCA collection, MoCA
Paris; Nimes; Chelles, Calais (France), 10 peintres Macedoniens, Museè des Beaux Arts de Nimes; Centre culturel de la ville de Chelles
Zagreb, Exhibition UFAY
Struga, Poetry as an inspiration
Strumica, Art Colony
1971 Skopje, Works by Macedonian Artists from the MoCA collection, MoCA (10)
1972 Iași, Piatra Neamț, Contemporary Macedonian Art, Central Exhibition pavilion
1973 Kazimierz (Poland), Pieces from the International Art Colony
1973/74 Skopje, 25 of UFAY– exhibition of the SFAM celebrating International Week of Art
1974 Vrnjacka Banja (Serbia), Contemporary Macedonian Painting
Kavadarci, Exhibition by fine artists from Kavadarci
Lublin (Poland), І International Art Colony
Kumanovo; Skopje, Sister Cities
1975 Sombor (Serbia), XV. Autumn of art (V. Triennial of Yugoslavian drawings)
Banja Luka (Bosnia Herzegovina), VII. Autumnal and І. International Salon of fine arts
1976 Zagreb (Croatia), Contemporary Macedonian Art Gallery “Forum”
1977 Athens, Contemporary Yugoslavian Art, Etniki pinakothiki, Alexander Soutzos museum
Skopje, Macedonian contemporary graphics, Youth Centre “25 May”
Zagreb, Contemporary Macedonian Fine Art, Gallery “Forum”
Zadar (Croatia), Blue Salon
1978 Banja Luka, Contemporary Macedonian Art from the cycle Contemporary Fine Art of SFRY, Cultural Centre
Tetovo, Contemporary Macedonian Fine Art (from the MoCA collection), Cultural Centre
Graz, 16. Contemporary Macedonian Art Neue Galerie am Landes musum Joanneum
Skopje, Contemporary Yugoslavia Graphics, CKI
Skopje, Drawings SFAM
1979 Skopje, 34th annual exhibition of SFAM (20.10. – 05.11.), MoCA
1980 Skopje, Purchase of art works from RSZK (1977 – 1979), MoCA
Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian graphics (from the MoCA collection), MoCA
Skopje, Contemporary Norwegian and Macedonian graphics from the MoCA – Skopje collection – CKI
Skopje, Donated pieces (1971 – 1980), MOCA
Belgrade, Contemporary Macedonian graphic artists, Gallery “Borba”
Skopje, 11. SFAM graphics, NUL “St. Clement of Ohrid”
1981 Zagreb, Contemporary graphics in Macedonia, Gallery “Forum”
Skopje, 7. USFAY’81, MOCA – Skopje, October/November
1982 Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian Art, MoCA
Skopje, Acquisitions III, Museum of Contemporary Art
1984 Skopje, New tendencies in Macedonian fine art in the last decade, “25 May”
Skopje, 40 years of Macedonian fine art creativity 1944 – 1984, MoCA
1985 Sarajevo, A reflection of the 80s, Collegium Artisticum
Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian Fine Art (from the MoCA collection, Museum of Contemporary Art
Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian Fine Art (from the MoCA collection), Skopje Fair
- Belgrade, Karan & Students 1950/85, Gallery Cultural Centre “Student city”
1986 Skopje, Acquisitions V (1984 – 1985), MoCA
Skopje, Contemporary Yugoslavian Painting (from the MoCA collection – Skopje), Museum of Contemporary Art
Skopje, 6 Macedonian fine artists, MoCA
Skopje, Yugoslavian graphics 1950 – 1980, MoCA
Tashkent, Contemporary Skopje style graphics of Skopje, Sono za hudožnikov uzbekistana
Melbourne; Sydney (Australia) 15 contemporary Macedonian graphic artists
Skopje, Contemporary Macedonian artists (from the MoCA collection), MoCA
Belgrade, 6 Macedonian artists, Museum of Contemporary Art
Skopje, the 80s through the eyes of Macedonian Fine Art, Museum of Macedonia
1987 Skopje, Donated works 1983 – 1986, MoCA
Skopje, Geomtreicism and its types and forms in Macedonian fine art, Museum of Macedonia
Jiangxi, 15 contemporary Macedonian graphic artists, Artists’ Centre
Skopje, Art Colony, Hotel “Continental”; Youth Centre “25 May”
1988 Skopje, Artistic circle „25“, Youth Cente “25 May”
Bitola, 6 Triennial of Yugoslavian graphic arts, Gallery of Contemporary Yugoslavian Graphic Art
Skopje; Bitola; Stip; Acquisitions 7, MoCA; Art Gallery „M. Pijade“, Bedesten
Belgrade, 6th Triennial of Yugoslavian Fine Art of Belgrade, Belgrade Fair
Skopje, Macedonian Fine Art 1948 – 1988, Art Gallery
Skopje; Tetovo, Surrealism and its types and forms in the contemporary Macedonian fine art, Museum of Macedonia, Cultural Centre “Iljo Anteski Smok”
1989 Belgrade, Armenians for Yugoslavian artists, Centre of Soviet Culture
Sarajevo, Yugoslavian documents, Olympic Centre “Skenderija”, Sarajevo
Cologne, Modern Macedonian graphic art, Spanischen Baudes Kolner Rathauses
Belgrade, Contemporary Macedonian graphic art, Gallery ULUS (22)
1989/1990 Jaroměř; Olomouc; Prague, Contemporary Macedonian graphic art, Mestskem muzev; Kraljske vlastivedne muzeum; Pamatnik narodnino pisemnictvi
1990 Skopje, 15 contemporary Macedonian painters, Skopje fair
Skopje; Bitola; Kumanovo; Strumica; Stip, 21st exhibition of graphics of SFAM
NUL “St. Clement of Ohrid”, Art Gallery “M. Pijade”, Art Gallery; NI Institute and Museum – Stip
Kraljevo, Six Macedonian graphic artists, National Museum
Kumanovo, Contemporary Yugoslavian Drawings (from the MoCA collection – Skopje), Art Gallery
Skopje, Small size, Gallery “Glam”
1991 Skopje, Painting and tradition, Gallery “Harfa”
Skopje, Paintings – sculptures – graphics, Gallery “Anima”
Skopje, New permanent presentation, MoCA
1991/92 Sofia (Bulgaria), Contemporary experience from Macedonia, Paint. Gallery St. Cyril and Methodius
1992 Skopje, Winter Salon, Art Gallery
Skopje, 14 Macedonian artists in the 80s, MoCA
Plovdiv; Razlog (Bulgaria), Contemporary Macedonian graphic art, Art Gallery “Zlatko Bojadzie”, MKC
Kumanovo, Contemporary Macedonian painting and sculpture (from the MoCA collection – Skopje), Art Gallery
Tempe, Faculty of Fine Arts “St. Cyril and Methodius” – Skopje Art Gallery at the Arizona State University
Ankara (Turkey), 4th International Asian Biennial, General Directorate of Fine Arts
1994 Budapest (Hungary), Naturally, Ernst Muzeum
Skopje, Anthology of Macedonian Fine Art 1894 – 1994, MoCA
1995 Paris; Skopje, 12 contemporary Macedonian artists in Paris, Spadem Parvi; Art Gallery
Skopje, Studio B and its artists, MGS
1996 Skopje, Quartet, Gallery “Selekt”
Rome (Italy); Podgorica (Montenegro), Aspects of modern art in Macedonia, Palazzo “Ruspoli“; Contemporary Art Centre Dvorac Petrović
Skopje, Mediterranean context of Macedonian painting and tapestry, Art Gallery
Bitola, Paintings from the MoCA international and national collection – Skopje, Gallery of Institute and Museum
1997 Ljubljana, Zagreb, 12 contemporary Macedonian artists, Mestna Gallery,
Museum Gallery Centre
1998 Skopje, Art exodus’98, Art Gallery Daut Pasin Amam
2000 Skopje, Donations – Acquisitions 1987 – 2000, Museum of Contemporary Art
Ljubljana, European Culture Month, Gallery “Krka”
Apatin (Serbia), Painting – Space, Cultural Centre “Apatin”
London (Great Britain), Millennium experiment, Millennium Dome
2001 Skopje, Transformations, Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje
2002 Paris, Autumn Salon, Espace Autevil
Skopje, Drawing – selection from the collection of MoCA, Department of education Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje
2003 Skopje, Painting with a song, Art Salon of MASA
Paris, Dialogue, UNESCO
Skopje, Exhibition from the MoCA collection – Skopje, Museum of Contemporary Art
2005 Skopje, Macedonian drawings from the collection of the National Gallery of Macedonia, NGM Cifte Amam
Bitola, the potential of screen painting, NI Institute and Museum
2008 Skopje, Exhibition 2112, Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje (Sagittarius) (21 December)
2010/11 Skopje, Red mornings, “Art factor” and Cultural Information Centre
Skopje (Dec/Jan)
2011 Skopje, The Invisible Landscape, Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje
Skopje – Fragments; Macedonian fine art scene 1991 – 2011, NI MoCA
Tallinn (Estonia), In City…In citie, Nokia Kontserdimaja, Tallinn
2014 Skopje, Museum of Contemporary Art
2015 Skopje, From the collections of Skopje, Museum of the City of Skopje
Skopje, Clement and Naum and their spiritual light, Cultural Centre, Municipality of Ilinden
2016 Skopje, Non-figurative tendencies in the 60s, Museum of Contemporary Art (Collection of the MoCA)
Skopje, Sculptural, Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje
Skopje, Let’s give solidarity another chance (auction exhibition 06.09.) Museum of Contemporary Art
2017/18 Skopje, Linear drawing, Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje
Skopje, Macedonian postcard (from the MoCA collection Skopje), MoCA
2018 Skopje, Connections in the collections – Italian and Macedonian parallels, Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje
2019 Skopje, Contemporary sculpture – SFAM Gallery YCC (April)
2021 Skopje, Large format II, Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje
2022 Skopje, Acquisitions – Donations 2017 – 2021, Ni Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje (02.IV)
Awards
1968 Skopje, “Nereski majstori” Award at the Autumnal exhibition of SFAM
1969 Skopje, Award for painting, awarded by the newspaper “Mlad Borec”
1975 Skopje, Purchase award for the conceptual design of fountain in Skopje
Publishing activity
- He published the work “Cellulose medium – handmade paper, types of local cellulose and their comparison with the already established cellulose raw materials”, a publication of scientific, research, creative and artistic nature.
- He published the work “Cellulose medium – handmade paper and other similar fields”, as scholarly literature.