VASKA EMANOUILOVA: INTERPRETATIONS

In 2017, the 10th anniversary from the beginning of the active exhibition work of Vaska Emanouilova Gallery was marked. It was opened next to Zaimov Park at the very end of 2006 after a long period of time in search for a dedicated space to house Vaska Emanouilova’s donation.

Since then, the gallery has been implementing a museum program, focused over the years on rediscovering Vaska Emanouilova’s art and presenting it to the audiences. It administrates the archiving of her art, looks into the context of historical evidence and thus continuously renews the memory of the famous Bulgarian sculptress. This exhibition is designed to show the path traveled and to promote the gallery archive.

The personality and oeuvre of the sculptress are presented through her art works, photographs, records and documents. The connection between her art and the works of her contemporaries has been explored – teachers, friends, close colleagues such as Ivan Lazarov, Mara Georgieva, Kiril Petrov, Stoyan Sotirov, Ivan Funev, Andrey Nikolov, Vera Lukova, Ivan Nenov, Preslav Karshovski, Boris Ivanov, Vera Nedkova, Donka Konstantinova, et al. All of these authors shared a common environment and activity with Vaska Emanouilova and participated in the processes of formation of modern Bulgarian art in the 20th century. Some of the art works on display are little known to the audience. Emphasis has been placed on the studying and working with the examples of classical sculpture; on the formation of urban culture and the specifics of the coexistence of “native” and “European” in the works of Bulgarian artists. For the first time, a focus has been put on the few Christian images, created by Vaska Emanouilova, and how they entwine with the traditional and/or ideological context, etc. The sculptress was among those most portrayed by her fellow artists, as it can be seen in the exhibition of works by Svetlin Rоussev, Lyuba Palikarova, Karl Yordanov, Alexander Stamenov, et al.

The exhibition features works from the collection of Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, the Svetlin Roussev Atelier Collection, Godech Donation, The Art Gallery of Dobrich, The George Papazov Art Gallery of Yambol.