Valio Tchenkov

Fantastically abyssal dream figures populate the visual worlds of Bulgarian painter Valio Tchenkov, whose works stood out at this year's ART BRUSSELS. There, he was showcased by 0gms Artist-Run-Space (Sofia) in collaboration with Sariev Contemporary (Plovdiv). Tchenkov's surreal cartoons, which often straddle the line between a child's room and a torture chamber, draw their quirky power from a painterly gesture that manages to tap into deeper layers.

His "stuffed animals" evoke the aesthetic repertoires of Mike Kelley or Paul McCarthy, as well as Harmony Korine's cinematic epic Gummo (Harmony Korine/Chloë Sevigny).