4 SPACES

23 January 2009 - 22 February 2009

The exhibition accentuates the importance of space as the major tool employed by artists.
Space is what the artist faces every time he/she sets about working, trying to overcome it and change it in an attempt to create something new and unique.

Branko Nikolov, Delia Chausheva, Momchil Georgiev and Simeon Shivachev are artists from different generations, whose perception of the world and means of artistic expression are also different. Hence, the exhibition is characterized by the diversity of the media employed – Delia Chausheva participates with drawings, Momchil Georgiev and Simeon Shivachev participate with paintings and Branko Nikolov – with video art works. Each artist chose “his/her” wall in the exhibition hall, where he/she creates a space of his/her own. The result of that is an installation representing a blend of various artistic forms, an installation, built by each artist’s individuality.

Mr. Branko Nikolov was born in 1956 in Tsaribrod, Serbia. He graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, in 1983, majoring in Drawing. He is a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, as well as of the Association of Fine Arts of Serbia (ULUS). He is one of the co-founders of the Graphic Circle of the city of Nis. He has had a number of solo exhibitions and projects in Bulgaria and Serbia, he has participated in around 100 group exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad, as well as in biennial and triennial drawing exhibitions in Bulgaria, Serbia, Japan, Poland, Slovakia and Canada.

Ms. Delia Chausheva was born in 1965 in Sofia. She graduated from the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, city of Krakow, in 1993, majoring in Painting under Prof. Jerzy Nowosielski. She had a second major in Drawing under Prof. Weiman and Prof. Bunsh. She has participated in a number of national and international art contests and group exhibitions, she has also had many solo exhibitions. Works of hers belong to galleries and private art collections in Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Japan and the USA

Mr. Momchil Goergiev was born in 1974 in the city of Plovdiv. He graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, in 1998, majoring in Metal Sculpture. Most of his work belongs to the field of painting. He has participated in a number of group exhibitions, art contests and plein air painting events, he has also had a number of solo exhibitions. Works of his belong to galleries and private art collections in Bulgaria and abroad.
Mr. Simeon Shivachev was born in 1970 in the city of Bourgas. Ever since 1997 he has been participating in national and international group painting and drawing exhibitions, he has also had a number of solo exhibitions. Works of his belong to various galleries and private art collections.

The exhibition’s curator is Ms. Rumiana Konstantinova.

DOBRI DOBREV 110 years since the birth of the artist

19 December 2008 - 18 January 2009

Dobri Dobrev’s exhibition at Sofia City Art Gallery is dedicated to the 110th anniversary since the birth of the artist. The exposition includes landscapes, portraits, subject and figural compositions as well as drawings from different periods of his work. The paintings belong to the collections of Sofia City Art Gallery, Sliven Art Gallery and the family of the artist.

Dobri Dobrev is one of those names in Bulgarian art that remained isolated from the tumultuous processes of the contradictory twentieth century. His artistic evolution took a steady and gradual course without any leaps of change and dramatic turns. Although he spent most of his artistic life in the cente of Europe among the dynamics of alterating trends and and tendencies, he remained indifferent to the modernistic plastic way of expression. The broad range of works show Dobri Dobrev’s endeavours to define colour, space and subject matter. What we see in them is the co-existence of colour splendour and light on the one hand with academic modelling of the form, immobility and subject and dimensioanl veracity on the other. The vivid line and expressive shades, the vigorous and expert rendering of the state prove Dobri Dobrev to be an excellent painter. Moreover, the accuracy in reflecting what he saw into his drawings and canvases can serve as a true socio historical document imparting the spirit of the period between the 30ies and the 40ies of the twentieth century.

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Dobri Dobrev was born on 21st December 1899 in the town of Sliven. In 1925 he graduated with honours and an honorary diploma in painting from the Prague Art Academy under the professors Max Svabinsky, Voitec Heneis, Max Pirner and Jacob Obrovski. Member of the “Rodmo Izkustvo” art society since 1928. Between 1929-1938 he lived and worked in Czechia. During that period he visited the European cities of Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hague, Brussels, London. In 1938 he returned to Bulgaria permanently. Till 1954 he worked in the town of Sliven and then moved to Sofia. From 1954 to 1965 he taught at the Secondary School of Arts in the capital. In 1942 he took part in the International biennale of painting in Venice. He was the author of a monograph about the artist Dimitur Dobrovich, 1957. In 1968 he was awarded the Order of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, First Class. Between 1923 and 1971 he set up 50 solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and Czechia. He worked in the field of painting and drawing. The genres he preferred were portrait, landscape, subject and figural compositions. Dobri Dobrev died on 1st March 1973 in Sofia. In 1974 he was posthumously honoured with the “Dobri Chintulov” Literature and Arts Award, Sliven.

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.

TECHNOLOGIES PLUS ART 130 Years Siemens in Bulgaria

15 November 2008 - 14 December 2008

The exhibition shows the presence of Siemens as a company in Bulgaria in an extraordinary way. The basic historical stages and achievements are linked to the development of art in Bulgaria. There are two reasons for the chosen approach: on the one hand the art of design and aesthetics have always been part and parcel of Siemens growth. In that sense the reference to fine arts broadens the context and adds to the picture. On the other hand, the connection between art and technology is a declared company policywhose expression is Siemens_artLab opened in Vienna in 1996, known for housing Bulgarian authors too.

The exhibition consists of two conceptual and visual parts. The first one concentrates on the chronology of Siemens presence in Bulgaria and its three periods: 1878-1944, 1970-1997, 1998-2008. These periods are visualized through actual company products or photos of them as well as works of art which present its development in Bulgaria from the end of the 19th century to the present day while rendering the atmosphere in the country during the different periods. The second one shows the basic topics of interest and messages of Siemens today: urbanization, globalization, demographic changes,quality of life and ecology. Except through texts, those messages are supported by contemporary works of art – Bulgarian art works from Siemens_artLab Gallery, Vienna.

Among the selected works and exhibits are some from Sofia City Art Gallery, the National Polytechnics Museum as well as works by various Bulgarian artists. The aesthetic impact of the exhibition is achieved through the balance between texts, photos, objects, sculptures, paintings and works of contemporary art.

Curator of the exhibition is Maria Vassileva. Exhibition design – Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova.

With the kind help of: Siemens Bulgaria, National Polytechnic Museum, Bulgarian Post, Multiprofile Hospital of Active Treatment and Emergency Medicine “N. I. Pirogov”, Palace “Tzarska Bistritza”, Municipality of Sliven, Bulgarian State Railways

KALINA TASEVA

12 November 2008 - 06 December 2008

Kalina Tasseva is a versatile author who works in almost all genres. She started her artistic career with paintings on the subject of history and the Bulgarian Revival period. Her first work after her graduation from the Art Academy was Levski in front of the Court. Generations of Bulgarians know and keep in their minds the image of the Apostle created by the artist.

What is central to Kalina Tasseva’s art are the large size historic compositions, portraits of revolutionaries and females symbolizing the Liberation. Those pieces reflect the power of self-denial and the willingness for self-sacrifice in the name of freedom. Kalina Tasseva has created one of the emblematic historic images in Bulgarian art.

No matter how engrossed in history and its heroes, the author has always paid attention to her surroundings. Powerful and outspoken, romantic and tender, sad and disturbing, stern and expressive, Kalina Tasseva’s landscapes have been created with vision and feeling. They also depict Bulgaria, a mysterious, magical land pregnant with history, mythology and legends.

The exhibition of the great Bulgarian artist Kalina Tasseva presents more than 90 paintings created in the period between 1954-2008 owned by Sofia City Art Gallery, theNational Art Gallery, the art galleries in the towns of Blagoevgrad, Veliko Turnovo, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanluk, Karlovo, Kyustendil, Lovech, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Rousse, Silistra, Sliven, Yambol as well as by the author herself. The retrospective character of the exposition outlines a rich artistic life going through a diverse and dynamic creaative development.

Kalina Tasseva was born in Sofia in 1927. In 1952 she graduated in painting from the National Academy in Sofia under Prof. Dechko Uzunov and Prof. Ilia Petrov. Member of the Union of the Bulgarian Artists since 1953. Many times elected on theExecutive Board of the Union of the Bulgarian Artists. Since 1984 she has been a corresponding member of the Kunstlerhaus Union of the Austrian Artists. Bearer of a number of prestigious awards among which Vladimir Dimitrov- Maistora Award, 1974, Zahari Zograf Award, 1975, the award of the Second Tri-annual of Realistic Painting, 1976, Nikola Petrov Award, 1999 as well as some orders – Order of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, first class, 1984, Order of St. St. Apostles Cyril and Methodius, first class, 2008. Kalina Tasseva’s works are owned by the National Art Gallery, Sofia City Art Gallery, regional art galleries and private galleries in the country and abroad among which are the collections of Prof. Peter Ludwig PhD (Germany), Mr. Hugo Vuten (Belgium) and Academician Svetlin Roussev (Sofia and Pleven).

SOCIETE GENERALE Selected works from the contempory art collection

17 October 2008 - 07 November 2008

Everybody who happens to visit the imposing building of Societe Generale in Paris, situated in the modern La Defance area, can’t remain indifferent to the works of art inhabiting the whole space. Modern and provocative, they tickle the senses and inspire a more dynamic contemporary way of communication.

The collection was initiated in 1995. The original idea of using the newly bought works for decorating offices and conference halls soon developed further and after 2003 the amount of the collection allowed for the donation of works to museums in France and other countries. Today it includes over 170 works by authors from different countries and generations, who represent a variety of styles. Regardless of the deliberately eclectic character of the collection, with its growing we can identify three major genres: abstract painting, photography and sculpture. World known names like Pierre Alechinsky, Pierre Soulage, Antonie Tapies, Andy Warhol and Sol Lewitt appear alongside young talents from the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century.

The exhibition in Bulgaria has been organized in co-operation with Societe Generale Expressbank. The selection of works has been made by the expert team of Sofia City Art Gallery and includes 19 artists with 48 paintings, drawings and photographs. The concept is that we show the diversity of a corporate collection and the opportunities it gives for an international cultural exchange.

MARIO ZHEKOV Celebrating the 110th anniversary of his birth

17 October 2008 - 07 November 2008

The exhibition presents 74 canvases and drawings selected by the art critic Marin Dobrev, director of the Art Gallery of the town of Stara Zagora. The selected works belong to the Art Gallery of the town of Stara Zagora, the National Art Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of the town of Bourgas, the Art Gallery of the town of Sliven, the Art Gallery of the town of Kazanluk and private collections.

Mario Zhekov (Marin Todorov Zhekov) is one of the most prominent Bulgarian marine artists, fascinated with the delicate way the waves touch the shore, with the gentle flutter caused by the playful interaction between light and shade. His works are inspired by the desire for peace and harmony, a desire characteristic of the works of Bulgarian landscape artists working between the two world wars.

The artist was born on October 16, 1898 in the town of Stara Zagora. He studied, with interruptions, at the State Art Industrial School in Sofia and the Paris Painting School. The landscapes he painted following his trip to Istanbul in 1921 were the earliest convincing proof of his talent. They reveal a variety of painting techniques that is to become a characteristic feature of all his works. In the 1930’s and the early 1940’s Mario Zhekov reached the peak of his artistic maturity. This is when he travelled along the French coast, to the Bulgarian seaside towns of Balchik, Varna, Nesebur and Sozopol, as well as to the Aegean Sea coast and the city of Ohrid. The year of 1937, which he spent in the city of Dubrovnik, is a particularly productive one for the artist. The popularity of his landscapes among the Croatian public and the critical acclaim they brought him resulted in soloexhibitions in Prague, Budapest and Bucharest.

The social changes that took place after the Second World War resulted in the marginalization of landscape artists. Mario Zhekov earned his living designing brochures advertising Bulgarian seaside resorts. He died on August 3, 1955.

SHORTLIST 2008 Gaudenz B. Ruf Award

09 October 2008 - 07 November 2008

The Gaudenz B. Ruf Award was set up in 2007 by the former Swiss ambassador to Bulgaria who, during his stay from 1995 to 2000, became acquainted with the rich cultural life of the country and convinced of its artistic potential.

The Award is financed through a fund established in Switzerland. The aim of the Award is to promote and propagate artistic expression in Bulgaria in the field of visual arts and to focus in particular on the younger generation.

The Award is granted annually to a young and to an advanced artist, within the framework of a competition (www.ruf-award.org).

The first competition was announced in 2007 and the winners were Svetozara Alexandrova and Krassimir Terziev.

In 2008, the Gaudenz B. Ruf Award is attributed for the second time.

The members of the jury are: Kamen Balkanski, Sofia; Luchezar Boyadjiev, Sofia; Lucia Coray, Zurich; Elena Panayotova, Sofia; Hedwig Saxenhuber, Vienna; Gaudenz B. Ruf, Berne.

At their meeting in May, they selected, among the numerous applicants, the following 16 candidates to be included in the shortlist 2008:

Category Young Artists: Dimitar Genchev, Sofia; Stanimir Genov, Sofia; Ivaylo Hristov, Sofia; Nikola Mihov, Sofia; Bora Petkova, Sofia; Jelko Terziev, Sofia; Deyan Yanev, Sofia.

Category Advanced Artists: Mariela Gemisheva, Sofia; David Heywood, Plovdiv; Ivan Kostolov, Plovdiv; Natasha Kupova, Plovdiv; Ilian Lalev, Sofia; Todor Lambov, Sofia; Theodor Liho, Sofia; Adelina Popnedeleva, Sofia; Peter Tzanev, Sofia.

Their works are presented in a catalogue and in an exhibition SHORTLIST 2008 at the Sofia Art Gallery opening on 9 October.

Winners:
Category Young Artists: Bora Petkova
Category Advanced Artists: Adelina Popnedeleva

GARDENS OF MEMORY 80 years of preserved Sofia history

08 September 2008 - 03 October 2008

The exhibition presents four institutions having a common origin – Sofia History Museum, the City Library, Sofia State Archives and Sofia Art Gallery.

In 1928 on the occasion of celebrating the half-century jubilee since the Liberation of Sofia and the 1000th anniversary of the Golden Age of Bulgarian Letters and Literature the then mayor General Vladimir Vazov issued a written order by virtue of which the Sofa Municipal Museum was set up.
This was the beginning of collecting materials and evidence about the history, culture and art of Sofia – books, documents, photos, maps, schemes, archaeological findings, artefacts, sculptures, paintings, graphics.

The museum was housed at different addresses from 1929 to 1941 when a special building was opened for it at 3 Banski Square (the same building was later demolished during the bomb raids in March 1944). In 1948 part of the pictorial fund of the museum was transferred to the newly established National Art Gallery. In April 1952 the library and the archives separated from the City Museum and in October the same year the Museum of the History of Sofia and the City Gallery were pronounced independent institutions.

Today, 80 years after the visionary creation of the City Museum, which gave rise to four significant situations, these same institutions have their own addresses and paths of development.

The exhibition is an exploration of the historic and artistic memory and shows over 150 exhibits – paintings, sculptures, books, documents, photos.

The exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue.

Three forgotten collections 75 years Rotary Bulgaria

17 June 2008 - 06 July 2008

The Three Forgotten Collections exhibition is organised to mark the 75th anniversary since the founding of the first Rotary club in Bulgaria and includes works from the collections of the Rotarians from the pre-war club Lyuben Bozhkov, Nikola Vassilev and Gencho Stainov.

The projects connected to cultural events were characteristic of the Rotarian activities and their bulletin regularly informed about art in Bulgaria. The club used to host the intellectual elite of Sofia, some of the regular guests being Alexander Bozhinov, Alexander Dobrinov, Sirak Skitnik, Raiko Alexiev, Prof. Nikola Mihailov. The Roatrians of Sofia collected works by Konstantin Shturkelov, Bencho Obreshkov, Ivan Hristov, Nikola Tanev, Boris Georgiev, Atanas Mihov, Andrei Nikolov and many others. As patrons of art we can mention Sergei Kalyandzhiev, Dobri Kurshev, the Peev brothers, Dr. N. P. Nikolaev, Gencho Stainov, Georgi Atanassov.

The name of Alexander Dobrinov is also associated with the Rotary society after his being presented in the club in 1934 by his friend engineer Tsvyatko Kadiiski. By 1938 the artist had created over 70 cartoon portraits of Rotarians and guests of theirs, most of which published in the Rotarian journal. Dobrinov was the author of the group portrait “Rotary Club – Sofia” (1936) which burnt during the bomb raids in 1944 and what was left was only a single colour facsimile. We owe Dobrinov also a brilliant portrait of the 1936 President of Rotary International William Manier as well as the portrait of the saviour of Bulgarian Jews, Dimitur Peshev, created during his visit to the Club. During one of his visits the founding father of Bulgarian cartoon Alexander Bozhinov, instead of delivering a Rotarian speech, drew a self-portrait, signed it and gave it to Rotary as a gift. That very portrait was published in the Club journal in 1938. The first representative of the artistic circles to be admitted to Rotary Club in 1936 was Dechko Ouzounov who painted the portrait of the first Bulgarian Rotarian, Subo Nikolov. In the same year under the aegis of Rotary Club – Sofia and the Bulgarian Ambassador in Prague, Ivan Popov (a founding member pf the Club), a celebration marking the 80th birthday of Ivan Murkvichka was organised in the Check capital. A year later the Club organised a discussion on the topic of “Architecture and its Synthesis with Art” prompted by Rotarians architect Mihailovski, architect Vasilyov and Dechko Ouzounov.

The current exhibition Rotary Club - Sofia presents collections inherited by Nikola Vassilev, Lyuben Bozhkov and Gencho Stainov. The works included in the exposition are being exhibited publicly for the first time.

Nikola Vassilev was born in the village of Trun in 1884. He studied medicine in Gant and later on law in Brussels. He dropped out to take part in the wars for the unification of Bulgaria. After the war he became representative of Standard Oil for Bulgaria , later on setting up his own company for trading oil products. He was one of the founding fathers of rubber manufacturing in our country. He was twice elected Member of Parliament. As such he signed Dimitur Peshev’s Declaration by virtue of which Bulgarian Jews were rescued from the Holocaust. Sentenced to death by the “People’s Court” and murdered on 1st February, 1945. Vassilev was friends with the artists Ilia Obreshkov, Sirak Skitnik, Ivan Hristov, Vassil Stoilov, Boris Denev. He was the one who invited Alexander Bozhinov to the Club. He was a close friend to Dechko Ouzounov. He recommended the purchasing of works by Konstantin Shturkelov for the Club. Vassilev was one of the initiators for the visit of a group of intellectuals in Athens in the early thirties, among whom were Prof. Ivan Lazarov, Sirak Skitnik, Boris Denev, Fani Popova-Moutafova. He owned works by Nikolai Rainov from his Prague period.

Lyuben Bozhkov was born in the town of Varna in 1880. He studied engineering in Vienna, took part in the first naval constructions in Bulgaria after which he worked for the BDO where he reached the position of General Director. Professor at the State Polytechnics. He took part in the construction of the sub-Balkan railway line and designed a project for the bridge over the Danube. Chairman of the Bulgarian Geographic Society and member of National Geographic. He was author of the book “Bulgaria is not Only the country of Roses”. A keen lover of books, at the end of his life he gave away his unique collection of geographic maps to the National library. He was friends with Konstantin Shturkelov, Vassil Stoilov, Dechko Ouzounov, Raiko Alexiev.

Gencho Stainov was born in the town of Kazanluk in 1884. He finished the Commercial High School in the town of Svishtov and then graduated in electrical engineering in Lausanne. He designed and guided the construction of Enina Water Power Plant, electrified the town of Kazanluk, expanded the Bratya Stainovi textile factory, developed a method for shooting at aircrafts (patented in the USA) and devices for meteorological research, studied the rainfalls in Bulgaria. In 1938 Dechko Ouzounov arranged the exhibition stall of his company at the Plovdiv Fair.