KIRO URDIN PLANETARISM MOVEMENT
1985-2020
Kiro Urdin e-mail: planetarism@gmail.com Tel: +32 475 82 30 93 Web: www.kirourdin.info PLANETARISM MOVEMENT Fevruary, 2020
Publisher ARTPREMIUM 19 Boulevard Malesherbes - 75008 Paris Tel: +33 1 55 27 36 56 - info@artpremium.com www.artpremium.com Publisher: Director: Eric Bonici Chief Editor: Corinne Timsit Translation into English and Proofreading: Graham Reid and Margaret-Peggy Reid Zorica Teofilova Marija and Matthew Jones Vladimir Ristevski Graphic Design: Boris Semov Printed by: BRANKO GAPO, Skopje www.brankogapo.com 1500 copies ISBN: 2492-9395
“Kiro Urdin is the founder of the art movement called Planetarism. He is a painter, visual and multimedia artist, director, sculptor, writer, journalist and lawyer by profession. He understands art as a comprehensive phenomenon, moving towards the unification of arts. He creates his paintings in ecstasy, with full fascination and expressiveness, with a lot of colour and colourful sensations that form a special world of forms and chromatic contents that accomplish a magical blend of the ancient rituals and ancient secrets with different states of mind.� Ana Frangovska, curator National Gallery of Macedonia 4
KIRO URDIN (Macedonia I France, 1945) A lawyer turned journalist, Kiro Urdin studied art and cinema in Paris in the seventies and has been painting since 1985. He is known for his energetic paintings which have been exhibited worldwide since 1986, in cities like Paris, Yokohama, Los Angeles, London, Stockholm, Ningbo and Bratislava. In 1988, Kiro went to New York and Hollywood to pursue his film ambitions. There he directed nine films, and he keeps on producing, writing and directing documentaries and experimental films today. In 1995, during the French Art Festival in Taipei, he represented France In 1996 Urdin embarked on an epic journey around the world to create the first painting to be worked on all over the planet. His idea was to incorporate a piece from every place he visited, thus symbolically bringing the world together in one undivided unity. It took him two years, visiting over thirty locations, from big urban cities to ancient world sites. The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and the Tomb of Jesus Christ, New York, The Berlin Wall, Ohrid, Brussels, Knokke-Zoute, Bruges, Paris, Rome, Pompeii, Pisa, the Suez Canal, London, Stonehenge, Athens, the Nile, the Great Pyramids in Giza, the savannahs of Kenya, Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Bangkok, Tokyo, Kamakura, Mont Saint-Michel, Eindhoven, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China all played significant parts in inspiring his giant work. The result of Kiro’s two-year journey is a 48 square meter oil-painting entitled Planetarium. A Macedonian film crew was hired to document the effort. Planetarium, the documentary film, was subsequently released. Directed by Ivan Mitevski and Kiro Urdin, it won Best Documentary at the New York International Independent Film and Documentary Festival in 2005. A monograph with photos taken during the twoyear trip by Marin Dimevski was released simultaneously to the movie. The luxurious book was edited by the president and founder of the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum. Today the painting is exhibited at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum in Bratislava. Planetarium Dance is collaboration project between Kiro Urdin and Toronto-based choreographer Debbie Wilson. On seeing the film, Debbie approached Kiro and proposed to expand the Planetarium experience through a new medium – dance. Macedonian composer Venko Serafimov was called onboard to compose the music for the dance. The ballet features eight dancers from Wilson’s own troupe, a local Toronto contemporary dance company, and seven from the classically trained Macedonian National Theatre. Planetarium Dance premiered at the Toronto Dance Theater (Canada), and since has been performed in Ohrid, Heraclea, Skopje, Chicago, Ankara, and during the commemoration of the United Nations 60th Anniversary in Geneva (Switzerland). Urdin’s work has evolved beyond traditional media like film and paintings to include dance, sculpture, literature, photography, philosophy and design. He has published over 15 books, some with his thousands of aphorisms, and one book of poetry entitled Novel, from which his poem Light was selected for the Pushkin Festival in Moscow. Working from Paris, Belgium, Macedonia and the U.S.A., Kiro Urdin is vibrantly driven in his efforts by one unifying philosophy: to bridge different cultures together, and to bring all art forms into one. Or as he defines the slogan of the Planetarism movement which he founded: “One Point everywhere, everything in one point. One Art everywhere, everything in one Art.” Klaus Pas
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KIRO URDIN’S PLANETARIUM
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ecently, the movie “Planetarium” by Kiro Urdin and Ivan Mitevski was awarded first place for the best documentary film at the prominent NY International Independent Film and Video Festival in the United States. Planetarium is a multimedia project that incorporates several artistic media – painting, photography, film, dance and music. At the center of this project is a painting by the most internationally established Macedonian artist – Kiro Urdin. The painting is 48 square meters; more precisely it is two paintings – one of which the artist burned in Jerusalem – that have been painted in different locations during a great journey throughout the world, a journey covering Ohrid, Skopje, Brussels, Paris, Rome, Pompei, Pisa, London, Stonehenge, Athens, Jerusalem, the Egyptian pyramids, Kenya’s Masai Mara, New York, Cuzco, Bangkok, the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Great Chinese Wall, Tokyo, Kamakura – an endless movement through space and time. This project, painted in faraway places, symbolically brings together the world in one undivided unity. “I could be bounded in a nut shell and count myself a king of infinite space” writes Shakespeare in Hamlet. One powerful artist’s imagination can put the dimensions of our planet in a little nutshell or a DVD; if you open it, bold light emerges, the colors of a rainbow are interchanging and you can hear wonderful music. Faraway places, surreal fields, unusual buildings, questioning faces are in front of us like a dream. Time and space are condensed and unified. Everything starts and ends with Kiro Urdin’s attempt to integrate the world into one painting. Marcus Aurelius says that whatever period in history – century, year, a single night, may not be understandable reality or this unrepeatable moment contains all of history. The belief in such a history made Schopenhauer compare history with a kaleidoscope, in which the images are changing but not the pieces of colored glass. He believes that history is an endless dream of mankind. A dream that all of us dream. Or maybe there has always been one man from the beginning of the world until now, who dreams all of us. If the world is someone’s dream, if there is somebody who is dreaming of us and is dreaming the history of the universe, the destruction of religions and arts, and burning all the libraries and buildings of the past, in somebody’s dream, it is not more important than the destruction of furniture. The ghost that dreamt them, will dream them again, and while the ghost keeps on dreaming, nothing will be lost, says Borges. Watching Kiro Urdin’s documentary movie, which shows the process of making the painting Planetarium, had an impression that I was dreaming Kiro Urdin’s dream, who dreams the dream of mankind: all pain and sadness, all happiness and delightfulness, all turmoil and longing, all suffering and love, all lost moments that are beyond retrieval disappeared and now are glittering like grains of sand in the desert of our lives, all the drama of our uncertain existence, all our roaming on the road, a long road on which we walk together – all in one singular painting. Emil Aleksiev
8th MARCH “Today is the Eighth of March,” was whispered among the flowers. “Today is the day of passion, a loving embrace awaits you.”
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HYENA In the metropolis, the hyena sickly howls and no one knows whether it breathes or moans, and the wheels of the car trample its soul through the eyes and thus the people rushing everywhere in a dense smoke they spread life and seek the hyena to put it in a cage, and they don’t know that their metropolis was a savannah once and they do not want to fulfil its longing, and for the hyena to die in the savannah, at the place of its birth.
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TRAIN Flee from the station without passengers there a cold wind blows in a draught Flee from the station without passengers both trains and rails flee from it flee from the station without passengers even oblivion is an extinct secret there flee from the station of remembrance there’s no one to see you there no one to hear you but if your soul comes back there often you be the train in which it will travel.
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Ohrid, 1999
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Mont Saint-Michel, 1997
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A Child’s World, 2020, watercolor on paper, 60 x 75 cm
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Mountain Goat, 2020, oil on canvas, 65 x 90 cm
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Paleontology, 2020, oil on canvas, 65 x 90 cm
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Red and Black, 2020, oil on canvas, 65 x 90 cm
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Drop, 2020, watercolor on paper, 23 x 30 cm
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Joy, 2020, oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm
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Blue Synthesis, 2018, oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm
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Dilemma, 2018, oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm 37
Citizen, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
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Inside Amazonia, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Composer, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Corona Survivor, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
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A Man from Rome, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Renaissance Model, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Southern Fields, 2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm
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Medici, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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An Intellectual, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
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Behind the Window, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Blue Kingdom, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm 48
At Home, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm 49
Love Zest, 2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm 50
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Genesis, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Cosmic Secret, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
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3 Dimensions, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Bushman, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Memories, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Underwater World, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Rich World, 2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm
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Corals, 2020, oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
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Leaves of Tenderness, 2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm
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Venice, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 130 cm
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Structure, 2020, oil on canvas, 55 x 50 cm
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Essence, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Fluid Matter, 2020, oil on canvas, 160x 120 cm
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Relax, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Rich Matter, 2020, oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm
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Female Feeling, 2020, oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm
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After the Rain, 2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm
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Love Rain, 2020, oil on canvas, 160 x 120 cm
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Marks Of Identity A creation of photographer Sylvia Jones & painter Kiro Urdin
Every single one of us has a unique identity, each with his or her own talent and own mission and regardless of his or her differences.
The painting of bodies and the use of headgear has a symbolic and magical value and is a common practice in many cultures. Indians use feather head ornaments to express strength and courage. Primitive tribes express themselves by painting their bodies. This form of visual art with a deep spiritual meaning is a creative way to reconnect with higher powers and become one with nature. It is a source of inspiration for the photographer to immerse herself in those customs, pictorial creations, colours and symbols. The use of elegant hats and sophisticated lighting adds a mystical touch to her portraits. Some works are reminiscent of sculptures from classic antiquity. They are like stately, white marble sculptures, an example of the traditional beauty ideal. When artists are working together full of passion and inspiration, magic will come to life.
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Enigmatic Man 2020, oil on canvas,160 x 120 cm
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KIRO URDIN
biography
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Planetarium – 1997 – Kiro Urdin (1945)
ARTISTIC MILESTONES Selected Exhibitions & Collections Solo exhibitions (selection) 2019 MM Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 2019 Kloser Contemporary Art, Online 2018 Robert Kidd Gallery, Detroit, USA 2017 MM Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 2016 Tom D. Jones Gallery, Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium 2016 Louise Gallery, Durbuy, Belgium 2015 MM Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 2014 Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands 2014 Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, China 2013 Museum of the City of Skopje, Skopje, Macedonia 2013 Mouche Gallery, Beverly Hills, LA 2012 Danubiana Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia 2009 National Gallery, Nuremberg, Germany 2009 Galerie Frederic Moisan, Paris, France 2008 Represented Macedonia at the Festival de la Francophonie, Moscow, Russia 2007 Galerie Paris, Yokohama, Japan 2005 Restrospective at the Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, Skopje, Macedonia 2004 Gallery Kamil, Monte Carlo, Monaco 2003 Gallerie Anouck Vilain, Belgium 2002 Guy Pieters Gallery, Saint-Paul de Vence, France 2000 Danubiana Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia (Retrospective) 1999 Gallery Kamil, Aspen, USA
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1998 Gallery Kamil, Monte Carlo, Monaco 1998 Galerie Frank, Paris, France 1996 Miura Museum, Hokkaido, Japan 1996 Galeria Urania, Ohrid, Macedonia 1995 Gallery Arthur Danziger, NYC, USA 1995 Museum Yuyu Yang, Taipei, Taiwan 1994 Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Macedonia (Retrospective) 1994 Hirol Gallery, Matsuyama, Japan 1993 Gallery One, NYC, USA 1993 Tamya Gallery, Fukuoka, Japan 1993 Galerie G, Helsingborg, Sweden 1993 SCAG, Copenhagen, Denmark 1991 Royal Ginza Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 1990 Timsit International Galleries, San Juan, Puerto Rico 1990 Robinsons Gallery, Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium 1989 Galerie Corinne Timsit, Paris, France 1989 Gummesons Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden 1989 Catherine van Notten Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland 1988 Warner Gallery, LA, USA 1988 I.A.C. Fine Art, Beverly Hills, LA, USA 1988 Schloss Gallery, Tirol, Austria 1988 Printemps Gallery, Mastuyama, Japan 1987 Paris Gallery, Yokohama, Japan 1987 Melys Gallery, NYC, USA 1986 Galerie Messara, Paris, France 1984 Hotel Presidente, Acapulco, Mexico
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Group exhibitions (short selection) 2019 National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014 Ningbo Museum of Art, China 2014 Mouche Gallery, LA, USA 2011 Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Holland, Collector’s Show 2003 DARC, Roma, Italy 2003 UNESCO, Paris, France 2000 Museum Jan van der Togt, Netherlands 1999 Fondation Epicur, Madrid, Spain 1996 Riverside Studios, London, UK 1996 Yayoyi Museum, Taipei, Taiwan 1993 Stockholm Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden 1992 Art Miami, Florida, USA 1991 Tokyo Art Expo, Tokyo, Japan 1989 Museum of Modern Art, Liege, Belgium 1986 Espace Delpha Art Contemporain, Paris, France Public collections (short selection) Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, Taiwan National Gallery, Skopje, Republic of Northern Macedonia Contemporary Art Museum, Skopje, Republic of Northern Macedonia Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
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Filmography 2019 Life and Death, HD, 45 min 2012 Steps, HD, 15 min 2011 Two Times, HD, 44 min 2008 Water and Fire, HD, 59 min 2007 Dogs and Trains, HD, 34 min 2004 Debbie Wilson and Planetarium, 16mm, 35 min 2002 Dogona, 16mm, 26 min 1998 Planetarium, 35mm, 57 min 1998 L’Art de Kiro Urdin, 16 mm, 20 min 1994 I love you, Iban, 16mm, 25 min 1978 Pishta, 35mm, 12 min Ballet Performance Toronto, Chicago, Geneva, Ohrid, Skopje, Ankara Most of Kiro Urdin’s films have won awards around the globe. In 2012, Two Times, an experimental documentary inspired by the African wilderness, written and directed by the Macedonian artist and director Kiro Urdin, won the Giant Panda Grand Prize at the 6th edition of the International Animal and Nature Film Festival, which took place in Ya’an (China). The international jury chose to award the film among 43 domestic and foreign film entries under the theme of environmental protection. The film was shot on locations in Masai Mara (Kenya). Chinese Ambassador to Macedonia Cui Zhiwei and Deputy Culture Minister Dragan Nedeljkovic presented the award to Urdin. This was the second time that a film by Kiro Urdin took part at the festival, following his 2011 entry Fire and Water.
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Donna Urdinov and her parents, Kiro and Mirka
Donna Urdinov, 2018, L.A. Zbrush Live Sculpt-off, Organic Entries Winner: Donna Urdinov (The Empress) 2019, L.A. Zbrush Live Sculpt-off, Winner: Donna Urdinov
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Gerard H. Meulensteen (President of the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum), Video presentation about Planetarium
at Van Abbemusewum Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Donna Urdinov
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Luciano Pavarotti, Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven, Kiro Urdin and Andrea Griminelli
Baron and Baroness Enrico and Sandra Portanova, Acapulco
Henry Kissinger and K.U., Acapulco
Gerard H. Meulensteen
Donna Urdinov 118
Anatoli Karpov, Corinne Timsit and Kiro Urdin
Kiro Urdin and Guy Pas, Geneva
Jovan Pavlevski, Kiro Urdin and Anatoli Karpov
Kiro Urdin and Mick Freetwood
Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac Band)
Baroness Danièle Bacardi and Donna Urdin Arthur Densinger 119
Nelly Benmoha
Mihail Urdin, Kiro Urdin’s father, Thessaloniki, 1938
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Kiro Urdin, Paris, 1987
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