The State Institute of Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria presents the exhibition which is dedicated to the the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union and the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. It has been organized with the support of Sofia Art Gallery and the Embassies of Albania, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary, Finland, France, Holland and Sweden in Sofia. Bulgaria is presented with some works from the collection of the Foreign Ministry.

The goal of the exhibition is to give “flesh and blood” to the pursuit of united Europe of unity and diversity through a collection of artistic works from different periods, styles, authors’ nationalities and subjects.

Each household is arranged by its owners and reflects the specifics of their culture, national identity, aesthetics and emotional disposition. Taken out of their “domestic” environment – the diplomatic missions and residences and placed in a completely new and uncommon setting, the collected works of art enter into a different dialogue with each other and gain different semantics and meaning.

The europe.art exhibition aims at provoking a willingness for a dialogue between cultures and gives yet another evidence for the universal aesthetic attitudes during the twentieth century on a continent whose name is a synonym of civilization and a common spiritual territory.

The exhibition presents 57 works of art (created in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries) by 40 authors. Among them are: Alvar Aalto, Margit Anna, Siim-Tanel Annus, Karel Appel, Cevdet Batur, Andre Volten, Helena Gibson, Dimitar Kazakov-Neron, Fatbardh Kalvari, Vassilis Katsivelakis, Dimitar Kirov, Patrick Collins, Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Yordan Krachmarov, Francs Masereel, Anna Madden, Mica Popovic, Kiril Prashkov, Samuil Stoyanov, William Wyllie etc., porcelain from Sevres and Nimphenburg.

In the full colour bilingual (English and Bulgarian) catalogue all works are reproduced and accompanied by biographical and supplementary notes.

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State Institute of Culture
Under the Minister of Foreign Affairs
2 Alexander Zhendov Str.
Sofia 1040
tel. 948-20-12
fax 948-20-13
culturalinstitute@mfa.government.bg http://sic.mfa.government.bg

A JOURNEY TO EUROPE (AND BEYOND)

13 April 2007 - 27 May 2007

The exhibition includes mainly works from the Sofia Art Gallery fund presenting the journeys of Bulgarian artists around the world. The period covered ranges from the beginning of the 20th century to the present days. The selection includes more than sixty names from different generations and artistic schools. The concept of the exhibition is to show the Bulgarian artistic stage in its openness to the world as well as the achievements of our painters.

The world wonderings of the Bulgarian artists started right at the end of the 19th and the very beginning of the 20th century with the development of secular painting in our country. The first professional Bulgarian artists studied abroad for lack of an Art school in our country and their journeys were bound to their education. This tradition was preserved and carried further on into the years to follow. In the late 20ies and the 30ies of the 20th century Bulgarian artists gained enough confidence and began travelling around the European countries to set up their own solo exhibitions, take part in international events or simply get acquainted with different cultures. Most of them recreated their impressions from the unfamiliar places in their works. In the course of the years the geography of these journeys broadened. Particularly in the second half of the 20th century the Bulgarian artist had the opportunity to get to know more distant and exotic places and used to travel to all continents. The “map” of the exhibition includes landscapes from France and Germany, through Greece and Morocco to Russia and China.

Among the most outstanding names presented are: Vladimir Dimitrov – Maistora (the Master), Sirak Skitnik, Nikola Tanev, Dechko Uzunov, Petko Abadzhiev, Preslav Kurshovski, Mario Zhekov, Eliezer Alsheh, Naiiden Petkov, Andrei Daniel, Gredi Assa and many others.

Most of the pictures belong to Sofia Art Gallery. We have also included works possessed by the National Art Gallery, the Georgi Velchev Art Museum as well as by a number of authors.

The exhibition is accompanied by a colourful bilingual catalogue (in Bulgarian and English).

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the State Institute of Culture under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Art Gallery and the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library.

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Team: Maria Vassileva (idea, selection), Adelina Fileva (logistic), Daniela Radeva (assistant), Svetla Georgieva (photography), Marin Marinov (registrar), Ilinka Chergarova (conservation), Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova (design)