ABOUT

CONTACT
toshain@toshain.com
Vienna, Austria

IV TOSHAIN (*1980)
Lives and works in Vienna

Iv Toshain is born behind the Iron Curtain in Sofia in 1980. Her artistic practice is influenced by childhood experiences in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. „I have a scar on my right cheek since my early childhood; I got injured while playing in a bunker in Iraq. It was only recently that I realized this happened during the Iraq/Iran war.“ She studied at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, completed an MA in the master class of Franz Graf at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, earned a second MA at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and pursued postgraduate studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan.

Her work has been exhibited in leading Austrian institutions, including the Belvedere Museum Vienna, Lentos Art Museum Linz, the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) Vienna, the Heidi Horten Collection, Künstlerhaus Vienna, and Kunstraum Innsbruck. She presented her first solo museum exhibition in 2021 at MoMA Tbilisi, followed by solo exhibitions at the Rocca Paolina Fortress in Perugia and the National Gallery in Sofia (2025). In 2026, she takes part in the Collateral Programme of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India.

Iv Toshain’s work is radical, interdisciplinary, and deeply socially engaged. She employs a visually powerful and symbol-loaded language, exploring themes such as globalization, freedom, democracy, and violence. Her work moves on the threshold of installation, sculpture, painting, performance, and activism, with cold weapons and slogans taking a central role.

The monumental steel sculpture „Nomos Basileus,“ exhibited in the Belvedere Museum in 2015 and the Lentos Museum in 2017, marks a significant milestone in Iv Toshain’s career. The oversized morning star symbolizes Venus, the evening star, and Lucifer. The terms „Nomos“ (law) and „Basileus“ (king) refer to the themes of law and violence. In 2021, her first solo museum exhibition „Nullity is the only revolt“ opened at the Museum of Modern Art in Tbilisi, Georgia. The site-specific installation (4 x 6 x 20 meters) consists of three kilometers of closely spaced aluminum chains, reminiscent of flags and equipped with guillotines at the ends. Flags function as symbolic instruments reflecting the foundations of state ideologies, doctrines, concepts, ideals, values, and components of the political system. The sculpture addresses current aspects such as globalization, freedom, and democracy. At her latest solo exhibition in 2024 at the Cannon Hall of the Papal Fortress Rocca Paolina in Perugia, Italy, Iv Toshain presented a new, site-specific installation – a 5 x 4 x 0.3 meter carpet fabricated from 2000 sharp steel blades. The raw and cutting visual language of the artwork reflects the harsh realities and conflicts we are globally confronted with. The same historic Sala Cannoniera with its historically significant stone walls was also the venue for a groundbreaking exhibition by Albert Burry and Joseph Beuys in 1980. Later that year, she presented this installation also at Kvadrat 500 in the National Gallery in Sofia.

In 2012, together with Anna Ceeh, she co-founded the ideology-critical artist collective  FXXXi̶s̶m̶ TC which staged guerrilla peace performances at the Venice Biennale in 2017 and at Red Square in Moscow in 2018.

Solo Exhibitions (Selection):

2025 DOME (I practice what I preach), AYA Estate, permanent collection, Harsovo, Bulgaria
2025 „TROUSSEAU FOR MARS”, Curated by Snejana Krasteva, National Gallery, Kvadrat 500, Sofia, Bulgaria
2024 „I FOR AN EYE“, Sala Cannoniera, Rocca Paolina, Perugia, Italy
2022 „AFTERLIFE“, Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art, Salzburg
2021 „NULLITY IS THE ONLY REVOLT“, MOMA Museum of Contemporary Art, Tbilisi, Georgia
2020 „EREWHELSE“, Monev Contemporary, Sofia, Bulgaria
2020 „ULTRAMODERN SOLITUDE II“, Art Agency, curated by Stefan Stoyanov, Sofia, Bulgaria
2014 „LOVE IS THE ONLY SUPERSTAR“, Viertelneun Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2013 „SPACE ODYSSEY II“, Gemaeldegalerie Academy of Fine Arts, Glyptothek, Vienna, Austria
2011 „THE ONE THAT SHINES HAS NO SHADOW“, Eberharter Display, Project Space for Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria
2011 „SPACE ODYSSEY“, MAK, Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria
2010 „BEYOND EDEN“, NAG 1 Contemporary, Arezzo, Italy
2009 „CAMOUFLAGE PREDATOR SPECIES“, LAZNIA Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland
2009 „ULTRAMODERN SOLITUDE“, Fleetwing Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA
2009 „ORIGAMY TRINITY“, Ohge Contemporary, Seattle, USA
2008 „DIABLO SPECIES“, Devening Pprojects + Editions, Gallery, Chicago, USA
2007 „BLACK BOX“, Habers + Partner Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2005 „LUNAR CHICK“, Artists Quarterly, Sotheby’s, Vienna, Austria

Group Exhibitions (Selection):

2026 PARALLAX, The Gift that keeps on giving, Forplay Society, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India                                          2025 SEX AND POLITICS, Art-Icon, Paris, France
2025 SOFIA ART FAIR, Monev Contemporary, Sofia, Bulgaria
2025 OMBRA e LUCE, Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art Salzburg, Austria
2025 KRIEG UND/ ODER FRIEDEN, Kunstraum Montafon, Austria
2024 LIGHT, SOUND, SENSES, Heidi Horten Collection, Vienna, Austria
2024 ART DUESSELDORF, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Deutschland
2023 ART DUBAI, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Dubai
2023 ART GENEVE, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland
2022 „WHAT THE FEM*“, Nordico Stadmuseum, Linz, Austria
2022 ART DÜSSELDORF, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Düsseldorf, Germany
2022 ART BRUSSELS, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Brussels, Denmark
2021 SWAB Art Fair, Monev Contemporary, Barcelona, Spain
2021 COSMOSCOW, Art Agency, Moscow, Russia
2021 PARALLEL, Monev Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2021 Curated By, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2021 „SO FAR AND SO FAR AWAY“, Centre For Contemporary Art, Burgas, Bulgaria 2021 „GARDEN OF SENSES“, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Salzburg, Austria
2021 BID21 Biennale Internationale Donna, Trieste, Italy2020 PARALLEL, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2020 PARALLEL, Monev Contemporary, Sofia, Bulgaria
2020 PINK FLAMINGOS, FXXXism Toshain / Ceeh, curated by Dasha Birukova, Lisbon, Portugal
2020 LIGHT AFTER DARKNESS, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Salzburg, Austria
2019 „WIE WIR ARBEITEN WOLLEN – Kollektives Handeln und künstlerische Komplizinnenschaft“, Das Weisse Haus, Vienna, Austria
2019 ART DÜSSELDORF, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Düsseldorf, Germany
2019 MERDELAMERDELAMER, curated by Kendell Geers, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Vienna, Austria 2019 VIENNA CONTEMPORARY, Monev Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2019 POISON IVY, curated by Ivica Capan, Franz Josefs Kai 3, Vienna, Austria
2019 „МИР- МИРУ- FRIEDE“, Performance, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain/Ceeh, Red Square, Moscow, Russia
2017 STERNE, Lentos Museum, Linz, Austria
2017 DIAMANTEN, Kunsthaus am Schauplatz, Vienna, Austria
2017 FLOATING WORLD – ART BAHRAIN, curated by Jonathan Watkins and Alistair Hicks, Bahrain
2017 „МИР – МИРУ – FRIEDE“, Performance, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, 57th Biennale di Venezia, Italy 2017 FRAU_MANN_TRANSGENDER FOTOGRAFIERT: FEMINISMUS, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, MUWA Museum of Perception, Graz, Austria
2017 TRANSPARENT BORDERS, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Centre RED, Moscow, Russia
2016 LET THEM DRAW, curated by Pravdoliub Ivanov, Sariev Gallery, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2016 OPTION PROJECT, Sothebys, Vienna, Austria
2016 DEATH CAN DANCE – NATURE MORTE, curated by Lori Hersberger, RAE space for contemporary art, Berlin, Germany
2016 REVUE, Kustraum Am Schauplatz / Büro Weltausstellung, Vienna, Austria
2016 „МИР- МИРУ-FRIEDE“, Performance, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Wir Sind Wien Festival, Vienna, Austria
2016 URBAN DIARY – Vienna Extended (Part of Destination Vienna, Kunsthalle Wien), Charim Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2016 ANATOMIA – Perfect Body, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Minsk, Belarus 2015 VIENNA FOR ART’S SAKE, 13 POSITIONS, curated by Peter Noever, Winter Palais, Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria
2015 EUREKA, curated by Kendell Geers, GALERIST, Istanbul, Turkey
2015 URBAN DIARY II – VIENNA EXTENDED, Charim Events, Vienna, Austria
2015 URBAN DIARY I – VIENNA EXTENDED, Charim Galerie, Vienna, Austria
2015 ART INTERNATIONAL, Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey
2015 YOUNG ART AUCTION – TEN, Albertina, Vienna, Austria
2015 VIENNA CONTEMPORARY, FOCUS BULGARIA, Vienna, Austria
2015 AUSTRIAN COLLECTION OF IMAGO MUNDI, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy
2015 BULGARIAN COLLECTION OF IMAGO MUNDI, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy
2014 DANCE WITH US, Projektraum Viktor Bucher, Vienna, Austria
2014 ПРЕЙЪР, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Art in Public Space, K.R, Vienna, Austria
2014 PARKFAIR TERMINARTOR, Stadion Center, Park Deck, Vienna, Austria
2013 Vom Weggehen und (nicht) Wiederkommen, Kunstraum Montafon, Schruns, Austria
2013 FEMINism – Anna Ceeh – Iv Toshain”, Spiegelkabinett, Büro Weltausstellung, Vienna, Austria
2013 RED BULL CURATES, Kunthalle Wien, Project Space, Vienna, Austria
2013 БАЙХТЕ, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Charim Events, Vienna, Austria
2013 VIENNA FAIR, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Vienna, Austria
2013 HOT ВИЗИБЛ, FXXXi̶s̶m̶ Toshain / Ceeh, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna, Austria
2012 ANNA CEEH – IV TOSHAIN / IN PASSING 17, curated by Ursula Maria Probst, Künstlerhaus Passage, Vienna, Austria
2012 INKLUSION, Kunstraum am Schauplatz, curated by Stephan Bidner, Wiener Art Foundation Vienna, Austria
2012 PARKFAIR ARTE NOAH, Park Deck, Stadion Center, Vienna, Austria
2012 DEATH CAN DANCE, ANNEX M, Project Space, curated by Lori Hersberger, Zürich, Switzerland 2011 GAUDENZ RUF AWARD, Rayko Alexiev Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
2011 M21 – Museum of the XXI Century – Evolution, Langenlois, Lower Austria, Austria
2011 PARKFAIR, Park Deck, Stadion Center, Vienna, Austria
2011 ARTSTAMP.DK+GUEST, Kunsthalle Broenerdoengen, Viborg, Denmark
2011 HEROS OF TODAY, Graffit Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria
2010 RE-EDIT, Charim Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2010 DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, Galeria LETO, Warsaw, Poland2010 ON PAPER 2010, Stalke Galleri, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 HELDEN VON HEUTE, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
2010 PREVIEW BERLIN, Galerie FB69 Kolja Steinroetter, Berlin, Germany
2008 PREMIO PROFILO D’ARTE, Museo della Permanente, Milano, Italy
2008 THE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, The Wharf Road Project, by V22, The Wenlock Building, London, United Kingdom
2008 OSTRALE 08 – 2. International Exhibiton for Contemporary Art, Ostragehege, Dresden, Germany 2008 FEMACO, Habers & Partner, Mexico City, Mexico
2008 7 II 7, Art Expo / MNAC Museum, Bucharest, Romania
2008 SPIDERS FROM JUPITER – LOST CATEGORIES – ABC – ANTAGONIST, curated by Iv Toshain, Rayko Alexiev Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
2007 CONTEMPORARY ISTANBUL, Habers & Partner, Istanbul, Turkey
2007 PORNO TOTAL ILLEGAL, Mayerhof, Waldviertel, Austria
2007 SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, Museum Sammlung Friedrichshof, Burgenland, Austria
2006 1000KM VIENNA – SOFIA, Dauhaus-Association for Contemporary Art and Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria 2006 I WAS BORN TO MAKE YOU HAPPY, curated by Iv Toshain, Prospekthof, Semperdepot, Vienna, Austria
2006 SPEKULATIVE PROJEKTE, Betonsalon, Museums Quartier, Vienna, Austria