Weather Forecast is the first solo exhibition of works by Maria Nalbantova, better known to date as a graphic designer and an illustrator. The topic makes use of meteorology and weather conditions as a metaphorical tool for artistic interpretations. Factors such as the ever changing weather, the difficulty of forecasting, or the concept of a phenomenon, form the basis for raising life-related, psychological or philosophical questions. Distanced from the widely exploited environmental issues in contemporary art, the artist focuses on the emotional potential of the ‘weather’ object. In this project she endeavours to provide the spectators with space for interpretation and co-experiencing, without illustrating or going into detail more than necessary.
The exhibition is specifically created for the space of Vaska Emanouilova Gallery and is related – mostly in terms of its genre and theme – to the sculptress’s permanent exhibition.
Maria Nalbantova uses drawings, collage, video, embroidery, etc., in order to compile an integral installation with visible interconnections between the objects and two-dimensional images. These, in turn, create relationships with the terracotta female figures by Vaska Emanouilova. The author also uses the visual contact between the exhibition space and the Zaimov Park to include the weather changes of the outdoor environment as an active medium of expression. It is for a reason that the exhibition is taking place during the change of seasons.

Maria Nalbantova was born in 1990 in Sofia. In 2015, she graduated from the National Academy of Arts with a Master’s degree in Illustration. In 2012, she specialized at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Universidad de Granada in Granada, Spain. Some of the exhibitions in which she has participated are as follows: In a State of Movement, Societe Generale Expressbank, Sofia (2017); Art Start, Credo Bonum Gallery, Sofia (2017); Black Bears for White Days/ White Bears for Black Days within One Design Week, Plovdiv (2016); Hip Hip Zine Fair, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia (2015); 22nd International Biennial of Humour and Satire in Art, House of Humour and Satire, Gabrovo (2015); DARK LIGHTS: félin amour, within the Night of Museums and Galleries, Plovdiv (2015). Experienced in the field of graphic design and illustration. She is the author of the illustrations of the 2018 edition of Button for Sleep by Valeri Petrov.

In cooperation with Goethe Institut.