To The Artworks

collective exhibition – painting and kiri- e

Alina Georgieva, Gabriel Panev, Lili Ricardo (Brazil), Rosen Krastev, Yuli Shumarev

28 June– 18 July 2018 

On June the 28^th at 18:00 h Largo Art Gallery will be hosting its traditional summer collective exhibition “Summer walk in Largo”, which is going to include paintings and kiri- e art. We will be exhibiting the works of five extremely interesting, different and original artists. Apart from the Bulgarian authors Gabriel Panev, Alina Georgieva, Rosen Krastev and Yuli Shumarev, we present the exotic Brazilian artist- Lili Ricardo.

Four of the artists will be presented for the first time in the exhibition halls of the Largo Art Gallery. For the Brazilian artist Lili Ricardo this is her first appearance in Varna, and for Alina Georgieva this is her very first appearance in an exhibition in general. The two artist from Veliko Tarnovo Gabriel Panev and Rosen Krastev have numerous solo exhibitions and a rich artist background, but this is their first time in Largo Art Gallery. The fifth participant is Yuli Shumarev from Plovdiv who is one of the favorite artists of the gallery’s connoisseurs and friends.

Gabriel Panev is a representative of the contemporary modern generation of Bulgarian artist. He is a graduate in “St. Cyril and St. Medthodius” University in Veliko Tarnovo. He passes through the influence of the surrealist tendencies of Western European art and gradually reaches the aesthetics of abstract art. He grew up in the family of the two famous artists from Tarnovo- Hristo Panev and Ivanichka Paneva, but he finds his own different way of expressing himself, developing his own style inspired by his creative views and the latest trends in contemporary European art. His works have a rich color range that carries the markings of modern abstract painting. He often uses symbols and signs of the Christian culture. In this exhibition the author participates with four artworks.

The young artist from Varna Alina Georgieva has studied Interior design and has graduated from VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar". One day she learns about the technique kiri- e and she develops an interest and desire to master the technique and create more complex images.  The Ancient craftsmanship called kiri- e originated in China, but has been further developed in Japan where it’s used for making kimonos. Kiri-e is more than 1400 years old, and the literal translation into Bulgarian means a "cut out picture". When talking about her artworks, Alina says, "I use the Ancient technique to recreate modern art close to my vision of beauty and grace. Every painting is painted and cut with a scalpel by hand, making it one of a kind, since I do not use templates. ". In the exposition we’ll see four of Alisa’s “cut out” paintings.

Another new to the gallery artist is the young Lili Ricardo from Brazil, who has lived in Bulgaria for one and a half years. Lili says:” I work in two fields of art- creating art and teaching art. As an art teacher, I have extensive experience with children, adolescents, illiterate adults, young people and adults with mental problems and adolescents in conflict with the law. As a visual artist, I use different techniques: acrylic paints, graphics, engraving, photography, artistic installation, using the environment to create projects using painting techniques, creating my parallel Magic Universe, in which people and especially children and youngsters fall in love. ”. In this exhibition, Lilly Ricardo presents three artworks from her latest project inspired by Bulgarian folklore. In them the young Brazilian portrays through her paintings her version of the popular and beloved Bulgarian folk tales - "The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple", "The Unborn Girl", "The Girl and the Twelve Months" and others.

Although this is the first time that Rosen Krastev appears in the exhibition halls of Largo Art Gallery, he is not unfamiliar to the audience in Varna. The artist has particularly warm feelings towards our town and returns for appearances in it again and again. Out of ten solo exhibitions and three collective with his wife Tsveti Maksimova, half of them are in different showrooms in Varna. In the current exposition, Rosen presents ten artworks of the last few years, illustrating his extremely varied creative pursuits. We will see two abstract works, participating in the Biennale of Small Forms in Pleven. At the same time, the artist will show a series of works with his familiar and beloved figurative compositions, executed in a style tending to the magic realism and surrealism, which will show a completely different creative side of the artist. The painter has also brought several paintings inspired by the style of the best French artists from the beginning of the last century.

With his four paintings, Yuli Shumarev will be telling us tales about family, love, giving hands, healing hearts and “The flame of love”. His familiar poetic style and gentle, warm colors always carry a message of love and warmth.

About the artists:

Alina Georgieva was born on 5^th of December 1990 in Varna. She graduated her secondary education in 2009 with a degree in Fashion Design and graduated with honors at VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar", specialty "Interior Design". She works in the field of drawing, collage and kiri-e. She lives and works in Varna.

Gabriel Panev was born in 1970 in Veliko Tarnovo. In 1989 he graduated Secondary Specialized Art School in Plovdiv, and in 1996 he graduated from “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo. He has had 47 solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad, as well as prestigious awards for his work: Golden Medal from International Salons for Innovation, Cyprus (1997), First Prize for painting of the Boston Art Association, Boston (2002), First Prize for Painting Annual Christmas Exhibition, (2012) of the Society of Veliko Tarnovo artists. His paintings are in of private collections in Bulgaria and Germany, Denmark, Japan, France, Jordan, USA and others. He lives and works in Veliko Tarnovo.

Lily Ricardo is a Brazilian artist. She graduated Visual Arts at the University of Santa Cecilia - Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2004. She works in the field of visual and applied arts. She holds a postgraduate qualification (2010) and a master's degree in contemporary art in the city of Porto, Portugal (2013). She has numerous solo exhibitions abroad and one exhibition at the City gallery in Razgrad, where she presents a cycle of paintings inspired by Bulgarian folk tales. Lily Ricardo is married to a Bulgarian, and for that reason she has lived and worked in Ruse for a year and a half.

Rosen Krastev was born in 1965 in the town of Dryanovo, Bulgaria. Between 1979 and 1984 he studied at the Tsanko Lavrenov Art School in Plovdiv. In 1991 he graduated from the University of Veliko Tarnovo "St. Cyril and St. Methodius ", Veliko Tarnovo, with a master's degree in Painting. He has 10 solo exhibitions and three collective exhibitions with his wife Tsveti Maksimova, as well as numerous participations in National and International art exhibitions in Bulgaria, Switzerland, Macedonia, Poland, Netherlands, France, Sweden, Kuwait. His works are owned by galleries and private collectors in Bulgaria, France, Italy, England, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Macedonia, Sweden, Kuwait, USA. Member of UBA. He lives and works in Veliko Tarnovo.

Yuli Shumarev was born in 1969 in Plovdiv. He has had several solo exhibitions in Bulgaria, Norway and France, as well as numerous participations in collective art projects. A lot of his artworks are in private collections in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Belgium and others. He lives and works in Plovdiv.

                                                                                                                                        Nelly Valcheva,
                                                                                                                                        Director of Largo Art Gallery