Life Is Raw. Life Is a Work of Art. Enter the World of Ivo Dimchev

The acclaimed performance artist, choreographer, singer and now New York City resident presents the interactive “In Hell With Jesus/Top 40” at La MaMa.

Article By Gia Kourlas 

Nov. 15, 2023

Ivo Dimchev, a queer performance artist from Bulgaria whose brash charm has been known to compel people to take their clothes off and join him onstage — it happened at Joe’s Pub last month — has questions. And more questions.

Would you choose to have a monument of Madonna or of Marina Abramovic in Washington Square Park? What does a show need most: good music, good choreography or a good story? Who would you rather have sex with: Biden, Putin or the Dalai Lama?

For “In Hell With Jesus/Top 40,” opening at La MaMa on Thursday, Dimchev is full of queries, including one that swings back to his title: Would you rather be in hell with Jesus or in heaven with Trump?