BULGARIAN ARTISTS AND MUNICH Modern Art Practices from the Middle of the 19th to the Middle of the 20th Century

12 December 2008 - 22 February 2009

This current exposition is set up to mark the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Munich Art Academy as well as to emphasize the importance and the role of this city for the development of Bulgarian art. Being a big European art centre, over the years Munich has provoked and attracted people from all over the world – with its schools and universities, museums, theatres and bohemian atmosphere. This is one of the places where the young Bulgarian intellectuals like artists, architects and musicians came into contact with the European artistic traditions so vital for them. A contact which turned into a formative influence for the development of Bulgarian culture and was of crucial importance for its placement within the European context.

The exhibition features a representative sample of 50 Bulgarian painters and sculptors who went through the studios of the Munich Art Academy. The more than 150 works included encompass the period from the mid 19th century till the mid 20th century. Gathered for the first time in such a context the works, supplemented by documentary materials, illustrate the spirit of the time, the link to European art and the willingness to immerse into the spirit of modern culture. Outstanding names from different generations of Bulgarian artists are presented into a chronological order – from the first Bulgarian artist of academic educational background Nikolai Pavlovich, through great figures like Ivan Murkvichka, Yaroslav Veshin, Ivan Angelov – founders of the National Academy in Sofia. Then come the names of Elena Karamihailova, Alexander Moutafov, Elisaveta Konsulova – Vazova, Ivan Penkov, Dechko Ouzounov, Ilia Petrov, Eliezer Alsheh, Konstantin Gurnev, Kiril Tsonev, George Papazov and others. The viewers will also have the chance to meet some unknown authors and will be able to remember the works of the not so well-known and forgotten ones. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.

Exhibition and catalogue team: Anelia Nikolaeva, Denica Kisseler, Adelina Fileva, Nadejda Oleg Lyahova, Anatoli Mihailov, Ilinka Chergarova, Emil Chaushev, Fanchi Atanasova, Irena Gerasimova, Hanelorre panchevska and Simeon Simeonov

In collaboration with: Culture Programme of Sofia Municipality, Foundation for the Development of the Spiritual Values in the Information Society, Institute of Art Studies, German Embassy, State Institute for Culture, Central State Archives, National Gallery for Foreign Art, Art Galleries in Stara Zagora, Sliven, Varna, Shumen, Kazanlak, Karlovo, Plovdiv, Svistov, Historical Museum in Lom, House-museum Georgi Velchev, private collections.