His work, which may be labelled surrealistic, includes paintings, sculptures, graphics, plastics, works of glass and embroidered textile.
Currently on view at the Nike Gallery in Sofia, during the summer his works are also on view at a Byzantine church in Nessebar.
In the cellar-turned-gallery he sits, bright-eyed, and speaks with passion. There is a philosophy to his life and work. His work is never thought about. It flows through him and he acts according to his feelings.
"All works of fine art are imitations. The Bulgarian word izobrazjavane means representation. Cut it into pieces, you get iz which means 'from', obraz stands for 'vision' or 'image' and javjavane is 'appearing'.
"Through my work I represent the feelings of God. So in that sense fine arts can never be valued by those who haven't 'appeared'. To quote Nietzsche: the higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly."
Kalinov's theory on life and art is very closely connected to the Bulgarian language as he thinks it should be used. He uses word play to explain his way of thinking.
This makes it very difficult, if not almost impossible, for non-Bulgarians to understand. "People are parasites when in comes to language. They use words without knowing their true meaning. The way they were intended originally. I wrestle with words, there are no rules, no borders. For instance slovo means 'speech'. If we cut the word in pieces it becomes 's' which means 'with', 'lov' is 'hunt'. So in fact you hunt for the words. Most people don't understand this. They just use the words they have been taught to use, they way the been taught to use them.'
"As children when we are in school, we are being taught how to behave, think and live. People are like parrots, they are repeating everything that already has been said. Therefore nothing new is being created. Art is about creating something new. And you can only create something when you don't think about creating something new. In Bulgarian the word Sketch means the same as in English, take it apart: S means 'with' catch means 'wrestling'. Wrestling with words. How they fight each other or gel together. There are connections between words they may not seem apparent."
Kalinov also wrestles with his work. Sometimes he doesn't sleep, so obsessed is he with creating. As with words, there are no rules for the way is art is brought to life. He uses different techniques, materials and themes - whatever appears to him as suitable.
"My work is being created through my faith in God. Everything that comes out of my hands are fragments from other dimensions."
However fond of language and words Kalinov might be, he has not read many books.
"Maybe not even a whole page. But I know things from inside my soul. I see other dimensions to life than are generally accepted. Live is one big cycle of tragedy and comedy. Everything is dark and light, evil and good. Most of the time we prefer the devil because he is in Bulgarian mignovenie: mig means 'moment', venie is derived from Venus, in Greek, it means life. The devil plays with moments in life. God however is eternal and almighty.
"People have a lot of energy, when you know where to find it. Then you can transform it. I am transforming my energy to create art. In the same way in which you change the way an electron is moving. Fire turns to ice, people to animals, stone to wood. Something small, could become gigantic. As in art, anything is possible!"
Currently on view at the Nike Gallery in Sofia, during the summer his works are also on view at a Byzantine church in Nessebar.
In the cellar-turned-gallery he sits, bright-eyed, and speaks with passion. There is a philosophy to his life and work. His work is never thought about. It flows through him and he acts according to his feelings.
"All works of fine art are imitations. The Bulgarian word izobrazjavane means representation. Cut it into pieces, you get iz which means 'from', obraz stands for 'vision' or 'image' and javjavane is 'appearing'.
"Through my work I represent the feelings of God. So in that sense fine arts can never be valued by those who haven't 'appeared'. To quote Nietzsche: the higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly."
Kalinov's theory on life and art is very closely connected to the Bulgarian language as he thinks it should be used. He uses word play to explain his way of thinking.
This makes it very difficult, if not almost impossible, for non-Bulgarians to understand. "People are parasites when in comes to language. They use words without knowing their true meaning. The way they were intended originally. I wrestle with words, there are no rules, no borders. For instance slovo means 'speech'. If we cut the word in pieces it becomes 's' which means 'with', 'lov' is 'hunt'. So in fact you hunt for the words. Most people don't understand this. They just use the words they have been taught to use, they way the been taught to use them.'
"As children when we are in school, we are being taught how to behave, think and live. People are like parrots, they are repeating everything that already has been said. Therefore nothing new is being created. Art is about creating something new. And you can only create something when you don't think about creating something new. In Bulgarian the word Sketch means the same as in English, take it apart: S means 'with' catch means 'wrestling'. Wrestling with words. How they fight each other or gel together. There are connections between words they may not seem apparent."
Kalinov also wrestles with his work. Sometimes he doesn't sleep, so obsessed is he with creating. As with words, there are no rules for the way is art is brought to life. He uses different techniques, materials and themes - whatever appears to him as suitable.
"My work is being created through my faith in God. Everything that comes out of my hands are fragments from other dimensions."
However fond of language and words Kalinov might be, he has not read many books.
"Maybe not even a whole page. But I know things from inside my soul. I see other dimensions to life than are generally accepted. Live is one big cycle of tragedy and comedy. Everything is dark and light, evil and good. Most of the time we prefer the devil because he is in Bulgarian mignovenie: mig means 'moment', venie is derived from Venus, in Greek, it means life. The devil plays with moments in life. God however is eternal and almighty.
"People have a lot of energy, when you know where to find it. Then you can transform it. I am transforming my energy to create art. In the same way in which you change the way an electron is moving. Fire turns to ice, people to animals, stone to wood. Something small, could become gigantic. As in art, anything is possible!"
