Having existed for over half a century now, the Gabrovo Art Gallery has managed to fulfill its initial sponsors and founders’ dreams for an extensive collection of artworks by Bulgarian artists. As time has gone by, this collection has earned the reputation of being one of the treasure houses of Bulgarian National Art. The new exposition, which features some of the most prominent works that the Gallery Fund has to offer, is the result of the hard work, diligence and ambition of the Gallery Team to present its synthesized vision of the multi-dimensional artistic legacy that has to be spread and popularized.

The Icon Collection mainly consists of works by icon-painters from the Tryavna School of Iconography, who throughout the XIX century painted murals and icons for churches in the Gabrovo and Tryavna region and for numerous settlements in the Tarnovo and Sub-Balkan regions. Among them are works by Simeon Koyuv, Racho Tiholov and Anton Stefanov. Two icons by the most notable representative of the Samokov School of Iconography, Zahari Zograf, hold a special place in this Revival Collection.

The Contemporary Painting section spans almost all artistic movements and phenomena and some of their most prominent representatives. The works of Hristo Tsokev, which naturally “cross” the bridge between religious and secular art, are some of the earliest secular canvases that the Gallery has to offer. The late XIX and the early XX centuries have been represented through two intriguing yet not very popular paintings by Ivan Mrkvička and Yaroslav Veshin and one of the most famous portraits of Mrkvička, painted by Anton Mitov. The next generations of artists have been presented through portraits by Stefan Ivanov, Boris Mitov, Dechko Uzunov, David Peretz, Iliya Petrov, landscapes by Alexander Mutafov, Nikola Tanev, Tsanko Lavrenov, Ivan Hristov, Yordan Geshev, Konstantin Tringov, the characteristic works of Dimitar Kumanov, Dimitar Gyudzhenov, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, the typified figures of Vladimir Dimitrov – the Master and Stoyan Venev and the historical paintings of Vasil Stoilov. The dynamic processes that took place in painting after the 1960s have been reflected through works by Alexander Petrov, Georgi Pavlov – Pavleto, Nayden Petkov, canvases by Georgi Baev, Genko Genkov, Svetlin Rusev, Yoan Leviev, Georgi Bozhilov, Dimitar Kirov, Emil Stoychev and the last three decades of the XX century are seen through the works of painters such as Atanas Yaranov, Ivan Dimov, Teofan Sokerov, Dimitar Buyukliyski, Stanislav Pamukchiev, Mincho Minchev, Gredi Assa and others.

The Graphics section of the exposition, starting off with in India ink drawing by Iliya Beshkov, is oriented towards works of artists who have contributed to the main ideas in artistic movements throughout the second half of the XIX century. This brief survey begins with works by artists such as Todor Panayotov, Rumen Skorchev and Petar Chuklev and goes on to include graphic art by the next generation of artists, highlighting the works of Stoimen Stoilov, Stoyan Tsanev, Ivan Ninov, Valentin Kolev, Milko Bozhkov and others.

The Sculpture section of the Fund, although modest, covers plastic arts pieces made by four generations of artists. The earliest piece is by Andrey Nikolov – one of the fundamental figures in the development and recognition of contemporary Bulgarian plastic arts. This piece is followed by the works of Nikolay Shmirgela and Kiril Anev, Galin Malakchiev, Pavel Koychev and Bogomil Zhivkov, Margarita Pueva, Vezhdi Rashidov and Angel Stanev.

This multi-dimensional exposition has been modernized and the Gabrovo Art Gallery is rightfully expecting heightened interest both from the Gabrovo public and from art aficionados from all over the country.

Prof. Dr. Marin Dobrev

Translation by Gabriela Hristova