Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery was founded on September 5th 1962 as an art department at the Historical Museum in Gabrovo. Its history is closely associated with the figures of Kancho Tsanev, Mincho Minchev, Mityo Solakov, Nikola Nikolov and many other popular Bulgarian artists. The person who spent the longest time working at the gallery was the artist Simeon Abanos, who between the years 1975 and 1998 assumed the roles of curator, member of the gallery council and managing director of the gallery.
Today, there is scarce data about the original gallery fund. There is information that some of the art pieces were donated by the Historiographers’ Association in Gabrovo, which was founded in 1920 by Dr. Petar Tsonchev, Ekim Andreychin and Enyo Nikolov. The 27 paintings that laid the foundations of the future collection “Old Masters” were donated to the Art Gallery by this association.
In 1962 the gallery exposition, which was situated on the second floor of Kolyu Karagyozov’s house, consisted of only 40 art pieces - paintings and sculptures. The names of the artists that stand out the most are Ivan Markvichka, Yaroslav Veshin, Vladimir Dimitrov - the Master and others. A special place in the exhibition was given to Hristo Tsokev and his five artistic canvases - portraits of prominent Gabrovian people from the Late Revival period.
Publications in media from that time make it clear that the aim of the founders of the gallery was “to find, collect and show to the townspeople the best works by the artists in the town and in the region, both the younger and the older ones. In this way the visitors will have the opportunity to get a complete idea of the development of visual arts in the Gabrovo region and to familiarize themselves with its most prominent representatives and their works. The Art Gallery will play an important role in the cultural life and in the instillation of an aesthetic sense in the working people in the region.”
The author of graphic art pieces Gavrail Vichev was appointed as curator in order to execute this important yet difficult task. According to museum documentation, he did an excellent job at combining his main duties with those of a fund manager and a tour guide.
However, the frequent leaks from the roof and the fact that there was only one permanently appointed employee constituted a challenge for the newly opened permanent exposition.
The archived documents of the Historical Museum which are kept in the State Archive of Gabrovo show that this initial gallery was closed and the art pieces remained in a warehouse for 4 years.
In 1967 a beerhouse which was situated in the basement of the Aprilov Community Centre was reshaped into a gallery. The Gabrovian people once again had the opportunity to experience the cultural legacy of some of the most prominent names in Bulgarian art from the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. In the same year the great Bulgarian sculptor Mityo Solakov was appointed as curator.
The specifics of cultural life in the second half of the 20th century determined the characteristics of the so-called General Art Exhibitions and ta new large-scale exhibition complex was established in Gabrovo. Archived documents show that this was largely thanks to a group of Gabrovian artists. Nikola Nikolov’s personal aid and service to the Regional Historical Museum in Gabrovo have been noted numerous times in the yearly reports of the activity of the Museum, which are kept in the State Archive of Gabrovo.
In 1974 the Art Gallery became an independent institution with its own building which was built for the first edition of GAE “Man and Labor”. It was organized by the Committee for Art and Culture, The Union of Bulgarian Artists, The Central Council of BPU (Bulgarian Professional Unions) and the Regional Council for Art and Culture in Gabrovo. The first edition was held under the name “GENERAL ART EXHIBITION ON THE TOPIC OF LABOR” and the president of the jury was Svetlin Rusev.
According to the art critics of the 1970s and 1980s GAE “Man and Labor” can be rightfully seen as an original account of Bulgarian artists of that time. At the same time, there can be no doubt that it made a promise for the near future, as some of the most intriguing achievements in painting at that time were made by young artists.
The last edition of GAE “Man and Labor” was held in 1988.
In 1975 the International Plein Air Painting Event “Bozhentsi” was held for the first time. Since then, it has taken place nearly every year. It is held at the the unique reserve for architecture and history in the village of Bozhentsi near Gabrovo.
This tradition has been broken two times when the event was once held at the Etar Ethnographic Museum and once at the Sokolski Monastery.
Throughout the years the event was mainly organized by a group of Gabrovian Artists. Names that are associated with the organization of the event include Nikola Nikolov, Ivan Kanchev, Ivan Hristov - Groga, Mincho Minchev and a number of other Gabrovians. It was initially only held in the fall, but in 1977 a parallel spring edition in which young artists took part started taking place. It was held at the beginning of April, during the spring break of university students. The first participants in the so-called “Youth Plein Air Painting Event” were Yordan Lazarov, Dimitrinka Grancharova, Tsvetan Kolev, Dyanko Kolev, Ivan Kanchev, Ivan Tsachev, Amaliya Mincheva, Mincho Minchev, Ivan Barakov, Ivan Bankov, Ema Verterova and Tsetsa Velikova.
The Bozhentsi Plein Air Painting Event is of utmost importance to the Gabrovo Art Gallery, because it was thanks to it that the gallery fund acquired a vast collection of contemporary international artworks.
Since 1987 the gallery has born the same of the Gabrovo-born Hristo Tsokev. He was one of the first Bulgarian artists to acquire an academic education, having graduated from the Moscow Art School.
On the eve of its 60th birthday the gallery fund consists of over 3000 art pieces by some of the most renowned Bulgarian artists starting from the second half of the 19th century. The art pieces have been distributed into the following funds: paintings, graphic arts, international plain air painting events, icons and applied arts. Ever since the 1970s the gallery has mainly been relying on national exhibitions to update and refine its collections. Seeveral donations made throughout the years are of great importance when it comes to enriching the gallery funds. Deserving of special attention is the personal contribution of Prof. Ivan Kanchev to some of these donations.
Today, the gallery has at its disposal several large-scale specialized exhibition areas with a total surface of 1500 sq.m. The art pieces displayed in them are more and more oriented towards newer audiences. In recent years the team of Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery has been concentrating their efforts on striking a balance between museum exhibits, which put on display the gallery funds, and new means of expression. Today, the gallery is host to a number of events which follow the trend of modernizing museums and cultural products and make it a modern and attractive institution.
The gallery’s current appearance is defined by several large-scale forums: the National Exhibition “Spring Salon of Women Artists”, the National Painting Triennial “BRIDGES”, the National Contemporary Art Biennial “TEMPORARY BALANCE - CEASELESS TREMORS” and the International Plein Air Painting Event “Bozhentsi”.
Dr. Nelly Nedeva
Translation by Gabriela Hristova