Eslitsa Popova

Elisitsa Popova was born in 1965. She graduated from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia. She lived on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, working in different genres and languages. Today she creates in Ruse and in Nisovo, in the canyon of the Rusenski Lom river. She draws with pencils, oil, and pastels, sews, cuts and carves paper, spins and shapes wool. Her projects span painting, video, installation, performance, scenography, and animation.

Exhibitions:

1992, 1993, 1994 – solo exhibitions at “Poisson D’Or” Gallery, Marigot, Saint Martin
1995 – solo exhibition Creole Tales at “Sur la Trace des Arawaks” Museum, Marigot, Saint Martin
1995 – solo exhibition, City Library, Marigot, Saint Martin
1996–1997 – numerous group exhibitions in Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy
1998 – group exhibition Abolition de l’Esclavage, Museum, Saint Martin
1998 – solo exhibition at “Agora” Gallery, Soho, New York
1999 – solo exhibition, Museum, Marigot, Saint Martin
2001 – traveling exhibition of Caribbean artists Entre les Lignes, Cariforo Center, Santo Domingo
2001–2006 – permanent exhibition at Popova Art Gallery, Saint Martin
2002 – Hermes, Saint Barthélemy
2005–2008 – group exhibitions in Bulgaria: Troyan, Plovdiv (Trakart), Lovech (City Gallery)
2007 – solo exhibition, Borisova 6 Hall, Ruse
2007 – exhibition, Smolyan Theater, Smolyan Jazz Fest
2007 – Autumn Salon, Ruse
2008 – solo exhibition I Would Like to Tell You, Sofia Press Gallery-Bookstore, Sofia
2008 – solo exhibition Faces, Borisova 6 Hall, Ruse
2009 – solo exhibition Pastel, Gallerie des Tropismes, Grand Case, Saint Martin
2009 – Trakart Cultural Center, Plovdiv – mixed techniques
2009 – Intersections – screenings and performance with Lyubomir Kanev, Diana Kovacheva, Angel Zaberski Jr., Smolyan Jazz Fest

Following years:
2009 – exhibition at the Dohodno Zdanie – Drama Theater, Ruse
2009 – The Nutcracker – scenography and costumes, Ruse Opera
2009 – exhibition at Porta 34 Gallery, Saint Barthélemy
2010 – Five Tales – film and performance, Sava Ognianov Drama Theater, Ruse
2010 – Rain in the Gallery – exhibition, screenings, and fashion show, Ruse Art Gallery
2010 – founded TE Couture fashion studio
2010 – founded Friends Gallery, Ruse
2010 – solo painting exhibition at Trakart Gallery, Plovdiv
2011 – exhibition at Borisova 6 Gallery, Ruse, with V. Uzunov and St. Videv
2011 – scenography for the gala concert of choreographer M. Zakharieva, Ruse Opera
2011 – curator of the exhibition The Artist in the Opera – scenography and costume projects from 1952 to 2010 from Ruse Opera, Friends Gallery, Ruse
2012 – permanently represented by Gallerie des Tropismes, Saint Martin, France
2013 – solo video exhibition Five Tales and Others at Arosita Gallery, Sofia
2014 – Balkan Voodoo – installations, drawings, video, Arosita Gallery, Sofia
2015 – curator of Blagoevgrad Video Fest From Fly to Elephant
2015 – Jubilee Exhibition in Nisovo – 50 years of the artist and 100 years of Geo Milev – Community Center
2015 – Opening of Sasho Stoitsov’s Exhibition based on Borges – installation, drawings, and film, Sofia Press Gallery, Sofia
2016 – special guest at Salon de la Grande Motte, France
2017 – artist residency at Cité des Arts, Paris
2017 – Flux 2 – exhibition at Arosita Gallery, Sofia
2018 – exhibition at Dom Kaneti, Ruse
2019 – performance Flux with Zandile Darko at Dom Kaneti, Ruse, and Genshagen Castle, Germany
2019 – Kamishibai children’s theater with the International Association EdukArt
2020 – Flux 3 – solo exhibition on borders, UBA, Shipka 6, Sofia
2021 – Woven from Bulgarian Wool, Eco-Museum, Ruse
2021 – solo exhibition Common Exhibition, Arosita Gallery, Sofia
2022 – Here and There. Thermometer of the Welfare State, Eco-Museum, Ruse
2022 – Beyond the Frame – workshop-performance at Social Services Home, Ruse
2022 – costume workshop with children and scenography for the opera Knight’s Quest, Ruse State Opera
2022 – scenography, multimedia, and costumes for chamber operas by D. Tŭpkov, Ruse Opera
2023 – performance Europe in Us, Dom Kaneti, Ruse
2023 – multimedia and costumes for The Magic Flute Tale, Ruse State Opera
2023 – The Courage of Rabbits, film and installation, Arosita Gallery, Sofia
2024 – scenography, multimedia, and costumes for the ballet Fire, Ruse State Opera
2025 – The Courage of Rabbits 2, Ruse Art Gallery

Awards:

- Golden Lyre for scenography and costumes of the opera Knight’s Quest, 2022
- Winner of the Artist Residency competition at Cité des Arts, Paris, 2017
- Special Guest at Salon de la Grande Motte, France, 2016