Michel Rein

Stefan Nikolaev ^{1970, Bulgaria}

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"THE INNOCENT EYE"

Stefan Nikolaev Carafe, Verre et Pommes, 2025 cuivre martelé et patiné, acrylique sur bois, néon en verre de Murano 140 x 165 x 20 cm œuvre unique Courtesy of the artist and Michel Rein, Paris/Brussels

Michel Rein is pleased to present THE INNOCENT EYE, the eleventh solo exhibition of Stefan Nikolaev at the gallery.

“The innocent eye” is a concept coined by art critic John Ruskin in 1857, referring to a “childish perception” of the world, seeing flat stains of color without knowing what they represent, essential for pure artistic vision. It emphasizes perceiving nature without bias, stereotypes, or intellectual preconceptions to truly see.

The phrase often implies a return to a more primitive or uncorrupted way of seeing, enabling a fresh, honest depiction of reality.

The innocent eye sees nothing. – „We constantly drift between the object and its demystification, powerless to render its wholeness. For if we penetrate the object, we liberate it, but we destroy it ; and if we acknowledge its full weight, we respect it, but we restore it to a state which is still mystified.“

– Roland Barthes, „Mythologies“, 1957

Solo show of Stefan Nikolaev

From May 29 to July 25, 2026

Rendez-Vous

Saturday 30 May 2026 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Opening attended by the artist – Michel Rein

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42 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris, France 01 42 72 68 13 michelrein.com

The gallery

Michel Rein was founded in 1992 in Tours, then moved to Paris in 2000. Since 2013, we have a second space in Brussels. The Gallery has long-term partnerships with emerging and established artists, French and international. We are focused on artists who question the contemporary world in a poetic way. Ecological, minorities or historical issues are at the heart of our commitment.

Most of our artists participated to major international events. Our gallery is a partner to International museums and private/public collections worldwide. We are participating for thirty years to international art fairs (Art Basel, Art Basel Paris, Art Brussels, Art Genève, Miart, ARCO, The Armory show,…)

Gallery artists

Maria Thereza Alves, Jean-Pierre Bertrand, Sébastien Bonin, Mariana Bunimov, A.K. Burns, Michele Ciacciofera, Jordi Colomer, Abigail DeVille, Jimmie Durham, Didier Fiúza Faustino, Dora García, Apóstolos Georgíou, Piero Gilardi, Mathew Hale, Christian Hidaka, Jean-Charles Hue, Armand Jalut, Ariane Loze, Didier Marcel, Stefan Nikolaev, Dan Perjovschi, Frank Perrin, Elisa Pône, Mark Raidpere, Enrique Ramírez, Michael Riedel, Hugo Ruyant, Edgar Sarin, Anne-Marie Schneider, Franck Scurti, Allan Sekula, Marinella Senatore, Agnès Thurnauer, Luca Vitone, Sophie Whettnall