Genko Genkov is one of the most eminent Bulgarian artists known for his striking personality and rebellious spirit. His last one-man exhibition was held in 1993. Today, thirteen years later, Sofia Art Gallery is displaying some works of his created in the period between 2002 and 2006. The exposition includes portraits and landscapes in oil and water-colour which show the latest stage in his artistic development.

Genko Genkov has created mainly landscapes which are notable for the specific style of their author – clearly defined volumes, vivid colours and relief surfaces. In the early years of his artistic career the author used to give preference to the darker range of colours. His landscapes represent people and animals. In the course of time the integrated colour splashes and the characteristic intense warm colours gradually appeared. A tree, a house, a mountain or a path in the open serve as centre of the composition in his paintings. Genko Genkov prefers painting from life and often depicts Sofia neighbourhoods or the outskirts of the villages of Roudartsi and Dragoil.

Through the years the artist has experimented with a variety of methods and techniques of painting. In the 70ies he explored the potential of the different materials, applying oil as water-colour, treating the surface with sand or replacing the brush with a knife. In the 90ies he would use pigments reminding of the ceramic glaze. His works reveal elements of the art of post-impressionism and fovism.

The works exhibited in Sofia Art Gallery represent the best of Genko Genkov as an artist. Painted with boldness and imagination they prove time and again that he is among the most unique and intriguing Bulgarian artists.

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Genko Genkov was born in 1923 in the village of Choba near Karlovo. He grew up in Bourgas. He finished Secondary School for Classic Languages in Bourgas. In 1948 he graduated from the National Academy of Arts under Professor Dechko Ozounov. His first one-man exhibition took place in 1965 and in 1973 there was a retrospective exhibition on the occasion of his 50th anniversary. In 1972 he was conferred the Cyril and Methodius Order of Merit Third Class. His last one-man exhibition was held in 1993.