Stanka Usha Tsonkova

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria

Lives in Sofia

A.P. Chehov Street

5th floor, at 4

Sofia 1113

mob: +359 888012727

www.ushata.com

http://usha1952.wix.com/usha#

Graduated College of Photography Sofia/ Bulgaria, 1974

 

FotoFest-1990,catalogue:

“Stanka Tsonkova /Usha/, one of the few women photographers working as an artist, turns inward to contemplate her own life as woman, mother and photographer-and the difficulty of maintaining that equilibrium.”

 

Resent:

https://gigapanos.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/Call_Me_Usha_2024/index.html

2023-24 City Art Gallery- “Call me Usha” retrospective, curator Vera Mlechevska

 

Publications:

 2019 Catalogue "Open Art Files: Notes and footnotes" 

https://issuu.com/open_arts/docs/notes_footnotes_spreads?fbclid=IwAR10avw4muqD-VyniHNY6Q6dsiPk-OZD4HhJkn2W_aVa7GZ1g8LR5cIA5lU

2013 EYEMAZING book

2012 NYArts magazine, December

2012 EYEMAZING Magazine, Spring issue

2010 Imago- Slovak photomagazine- portfolio “The self- portraiture of Stanka Usha Tsonkova: Broken Mirrors fixed with duct tape” by Rafaelo Kazakov

 

Collaboration:

2016 Host of BUTOH workshop with master Katsura Kan- May 2016, followed by performance and  lecture.

2012 Photo and video installation for Keiko Hashimoto’s “Soft Edges” Butoh dance performance in collaboration with the dancer

 

Museum Collections:

Musee de L’Elysee, Lausanne 1990

National Library, Paris 1990

Shadai  Galerry, Tokyo 2001

Japan Foundation, Tokyo 2003

Zental- und Landesbibliothek Berlin 2008

National Art Gallery, Sofia 1994

City Art Gallery, Plovdiv 1998

Private collections in the USA, Japan/ Eikoh Hosoe's collection/, France, England, Germany,Bulgaria etc.

 

Selected Awards:

ArtSlant Showcase Awards:

2013 Showcase Winner

2012 Showcase Winner 6th, 4th, 1st

2011 2nd Showcase Winner

2010 1st Showcase Winner

2003 Grant from Japan Foundation for the project “Embrace-Stone Garden”/6 months/

2001 First prize of The Review of Bulgarian Photography/1990-2001/ Photographer of the decade

1990 Award in the Art of Today-Budapest, Hungary

1989 Grand Prix-SIRP, Royan- France

1986 Grand Prix-SIRP, Royan-France/Salon International of the Research Photography/

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

     2023-24 City Art Gallery- “Call me Usha” retrospective, curator Vera Mlechevska

     2023 Toplocentrala- “A Wave Washed a Trace Away”, curator Vera Mlechevska

2008 Bulgarian Consulate in New York- exhibition “Dance Clothes”

2006 Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial-outdoor exhibition “Silence Dimensions”

2003 Tokyo Designer’s Block- at IDEE Designer’s Shop

2003 Tokyo-Christmas Exhibition at “Pacific” IDEE Designer’s Shop

2003 Kamakura/Japan/-October, Cafe Gallery “Arukamak”

2002 Boviel Gallery- Plovdiv/International Week of Photography/

2001 Shadai Gallery- Tokyo

1998 Week of Photography- indoor  installation “Gipsy Princess”- Plovdiv

1998 Berlin-exhibition for the opening of the “Methenzentrum in Kreuzberg”, work-shop

1994 Month of Photography- Bratislava

1993 Berlin-exhibition and work-shop

1990 La Roshelle- France

1988 Pforzheim- West Germany

1987 The Pataky Gallery- Budapest

     Various solo exhibitions, awards, workshops in Bulgaria from 1979 to 2023

 

Selected Group Exhibitions:

     2023 Personal Reality- Sofia Arsenal-MCA

     2023 A Few Ways to Win the World , Doza Gallery, curators: Vera Mlechevska, Desislava Dimova

     2023 MIRRORS AND WINDOWS:
SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COLLECTION OF RAFAELO KAZAKOV
Synthesis gallery,

     Curators: Nadezhda Pavlova and Nikola Mihov

     2022 Time and Matter- Arosita Gallery, Sofia; Curator Vera Mlechevska

     2022 Life as Experiment/ Photography as Life- group exhibition at Sofia Arsenal-Museum for Contemporary         Art/ National Art Gallery; Curator Katerina Gadjeva

     2022 National Gallery of Art, Sofia- exhibition "Sparks of Imagination/ On the Frequences of Boeus";           Curator Vera Mlechevska

     2022 Echo- Gallery Sariev, Plovdiv,; Curator Veselina Sarieva

2020- "Genealogy"-group exhibition at ONE Gallery- Sofia, July 2020

2019 Gallery Kapana, Plovdiv- Exhibition "Open Art Files: Notes and footnotes"- Contemporary Bulgarian Art

2012 Broadway Gallery at Verge Art Fair Miami December 2012

2008 Behind Walls- Noorderlicht Photofestival, The Netherlands

2008 A-A-H project- Sofia

2007 Prague, Bratislava- Contemporary Photography /BPA and Friends/

2006 Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial-Japan

2004 Contemporary Bulgarian Photography/BPA and Friends/-City Gallery-Sofia

2004 August in Art- indoor installation “Embrace-Stone Garden”-Varna

2003 Tokyo Designer’s Block-October, exhibition at IDEE Designer’s Shop Gallery

2002 International Week of Photography-Plovdiv

2001 Review of Bulgarian Photography/1990-2001/-National Palace of Culture, Sofia

1997 Process-Space-Art Festival-Balchik, Bulgaria/gypsy  fashion, dance performance, video/

1994 Contemporary Bulgarian Photography- National Art Gallery, Sofia

1990 FotoFest-Houston, USA

1990 Biennale of the Research Photography-Paris, France

1989 East European Photography-Musee de L’Elysee, Lausanne, Swiss

1989 Looking East-Amsterdam, The Netherlands

1987 88 Art of Today-Budapest, Hungary

1988 Baroque in the Photography-Cant, France

1979-89 Biennale of Bulgarian Photography, Sofia