Exhibition Opening: Legends, spaces, forms

Exhibition Opening: Legends, spaces, forms
with a glass of wine

Authors: Keazim Isinov, Ingrid Isinova, Kunka Dimitrova
& Todor Dimitrov

Accompanied by a piano performance by Vesselina Tchakarova

From the 4th to the 30th May this year, the exhibition Legends, spaces, forms will be on display in Sofia Gallery at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute London.

The exhibition brings the attention of the London audience two still life artists and two sculptors from different generations. The idea behind the organisation of this exhibition is to show the individual fates, journeys and completed projects by four contemporary Bulgarian artists, and that which brings them together is Bulgarian tradition, in the context of global cultural change. Each one distinguishes themselves with their own individuality and position within the Bulgarian cultural scene.

Ancient Bulgarian culture and the country’s natural scenery, and their re-creation from a modern viewpoint, have inspired many a Bulgarian artist to seek out some sort of synthesis between the past and the present, tradition and modernity. The legends, spaces and forms presented within the exhibition are an interesting opportunity for the viewer to discover several new, unexpected stances from the palette of Bulgarian cultural life.

Keazim Isinov
Keazim Isinov’s works are amongst the most interesting phenomena in contemporary Bulgarian art. They display a very unique style and are directly inspired by the national artistic tradition. His paintings show a synthesis of the elements of Bulgarian myth & legend with those of a modern viewpoint on the world. Regardless of whether the scene displayed is contemporary or based on folklore, his paintings inherently have their own logic and unique poetry about them. He brings the past to life, and recreates the present. His paintings show a great love for life and Nature. Without taking away from the depth therein, Keazim Isinov’s art achieves the difficult task of both entertaining and ennobling its viewers. The recognition of the artist’s work both in Bulgaria and abroad is as a result of the pervasive emotions apparent in all his work.

Kunka Dimitrova
Kunka Dimitrova always remains true to her own views, emotions and search for form. Her ‘heroes’ reach the viewer with their deep-seated humanity, directness and disarming inadvertence. She develops scenes from everyday life, whereby the fascination of her work comes from its sincerity and stylistic interpretation. Her compositions are dynamic and active, and their messages consistent with proverbs. It is in this way that Kunka Dimitrova achieves her unique style – a combination of naivety and the classical, of sorrow and of happiness, and contemplation and movement – all things that are able to reach the souls of viewers from different countries.

Ingrid Isinova
Having grown up in her father’s art studio, Ingrid Isinova is of the same school of thought and style as him, whereby gradually, with time, she was able to find her own still life style. She has a Master’s degree in psychology from the University of Sofia.

The young artist is able to capture the finest and most capricious changes in nature and is able to find the most adequate hues and nuances when recreating them on canvas. Her elegant blending of colour between the sky, water and land, sometimes so much so that it is difficult to spot, creates the feeling of eternity and mysticism towards the universe. The melancholy freshness and meekness, genuinely open to the world, and the flexible sensitivity and goodness, are the traits of Ingrid Isinova’s still life paintings, and she enthrals the viewer with the beauty of her work.

Todor Dimitrov
Todor Dimitrov directs his research towards the synthesis of the forms of sculpture on a new semantic level. One of his ideas is to create a sculpture which achieves a new message, through the unexpected syncretism between the ancient and the modern. His work shows respect for the simplicity of the silhouette. The architectonics replace the emotions within the form, for the purpose of expression. The characteristic intimacy of his previous artistic stages is now complemented by decorativeness, showing immense sculptural potential. It is in this way that the works of Todor Dimitrov develop in a new way the monumental artistic feeling of the author.