Kosta Tonev was born in 1980 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In 2004 he received a BA from the National Academy of Art in Sofia and in 2008 an MA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna
In his works he concentrates on the relationship between the private, micro narrative and the political. Through visual references to cinema, mail art, language and text he melds conceptual art with realism and craftsmanship.
His recent solo exhibitions include The Heavenly Bodies, Once Thrown Into a Certain Definite Motion, Always Repeat at GEMAK in The Hague and K. at Pistolet Gallery in Sofia (2015). Amongst others, he has participated in I and the Others at Museum der Moderne Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria (2014); 5th Biennial of Young Artists in Bucharest, Romania (2012); Contemporary Icons at the Webster University in St. Louis, USA, Why Duchamp? at the Museum for Contemporary Art in Sofia (2012), ArteCittà at Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella, Italy (2011).
Kosta Tonev also curated the exhibition It’s About Time at the e-flux Time/Bank in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The “The Heavenly Bodies, Once Thrown into a Certain Definite Motion, Always Repeat” project examines cycling as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of world economy. Economic cycles (or waves) are characterized by periodic crises followed by shifts in the modes of production. Born amid the recession of the 1970s the bicycle messenger embodies the core principals, which are to define labor in the current techno-economic paradigm. The artist takes on the role of a real-life courier, and intervenes in the relations of production. The project marks the 40-year anniversary of the recession of1973-75, and implicitly raises questions about its resonance for the present moment.
