The General Art Exhibition (GAE) “Man and Labor”, held in Gabrovo, was organized by the Culture and Art Committee (CAC), the Union of Bulgarian Artists, the Central Council of the Bulgarian Trade Unions and the Regional Art and Culture Council in Gabrovo. Its first edition was held in 1974 and was titled “GENERAL ART EXHIBITION ON THE TOPIC OF LABOR”. The members of the jury were: Svetlin Rusev (president), Sekul Krumov, Alexander Apostolov, Alexander Terziev, Bisera Prahova, Boycho Grigorov, Velichko Minekov, Dimitar Ostoich, Dora Boneva, Zafir Yonchev, Yoan Leviev, Maria Stolarova, Nayden Petkov, Nikola Nikolov, Panayot Panayotov, Petar Chuklev, Stoyan Sotirov, Todor Atanasov, Toma Varbanov, Hristo Neykov, Ivan B. Ivanov – a representative of CAC, Dimitar Mitsev – a representative of the Council of the Bulgarian Trade Unions, Ivan Nikolov – a representative of the Regional Art and Culture Council in Gabrovo, Metodi Vladimirov – a representative of the Regional Council of the Bulgarian Communist Party. Archived documents show that the sponsors of the event gave a warm welcome to many painters, sculptors and graphic artists from all over the country and provided them with good working and resting conditions. They also gave them the opportunity to visit industrial estates, construction sites and historical landmarks which were in the Gabrovo region at that time. The majority of the participants in the exhibition were young artists.

In her article “GAE “GABROVO ‘74”. A PRAISE TO LABOR AND A PRAISE TO MAN.”, Aksiniya Dzhurova remarks that: “Gabrovo has once again turned into the host of a grand cultural event…In recent years, these exhibitions have stood out with their thematic definiteness. This imposes a certain purpose, which is one of the many positive aspects of it, but it can also carry the event into excessive strictness…In this respect the Gabrovo exhibition has achieved indisputable success. We are able to see a wider variety not only in terms of the titles of the works, but also in terms of the problems the artists discuss in them.”

According to the art critics of the 1970s and 1980s, it is entirely reasonable to view GAE “Man and Labor” as an original account of Bulgarian artists at that time. At the same time, the exhibition was inarguably a promise to the near future, because some of the most interesting achievements in painting came from young artists.

The last edition of GAE “Man and Labor” was held in 1988.

Dr. Nelly Nedeva