In "This month" section, artnewscafe bulletin offers a wide selection of exhibitions, events, and open calls in the field of contemporary art in Bulgaria – Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Kazanlak and in Europe.
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Kyril Buhowski
Brutality II, 2025.
Installation
Details
- Description: cover: Kyril Buhowski, Brutality II, detail, in the solo show “Balkan Stories”, curated by Georgi P. Pavlov, Doza Gallery, 52 Tsar Samuil Str., November 5 - 15.
- Copyright: Kyril Buhowski
SOFIA - PLOVDIV - VARNA - KAZANLAK - VELIKO TARNOVO - ART CAREER
SOFIA
¬ Todor Todorov / Wind Forest/ solo exhibition / curated by Nadezhda Dzhakova, PhD / Sofia Arsenal – Museum of contemporary art, 2, Cherni Vrah Blvd. / October 30 - December 7. “Todor Todorov is one of Bulgaria’s leading contemporary sculptors – an artist of international renown, whose work combines philosophical depth, engineering precision, and poetic sensitivity. “Wind Forest” is a collection of kinetic sculptures, inspired by nature. Here, art and environment meet, while movement and light transform the space into a living, breathing organism. It is a harmony between humanity and nature through art that is not merely observed, but experienced.” - Nadezhda Dzhakova. https://tinyurl.com/3ddu7u6e
¬ Christo and Jeanne-Claude / Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95 / anniversary exhibition / curated by Gergana Mihova / National Gallery, Kvadrat 500, 1 19th February Str. / November 4 - March 22. The National Gallery (Sofia, Bulgaria) is opening its first exhibition dedicated to the legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, marking the 90th anniversary of the artists’ birth. The museum’s first acquisition of Christo’s iconic work Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) from 1986, along other original collages, will be officially presented to the public. With this exhibition, the National Gallery also commemorates three major anniversaries of the artists’ visionary projects celebrated in 2025: 20 years since The Gates in New York City, 30 years since Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin and 40 years since The Pont Neuf Wrapped in Paris. These milestones represent not only significant moments in the artistic journey of Christo and Jeanne-Claude but also landmark events that transformed the cultural history of Europe. https://tinyurl.com/bdeyueh6
¬ International Biennale of Glass 2025 / National Gallery, Kvadrat 500, 1 19th February Str. and other locations / September 18 - November 30. The International Biennale of Glass celebrates its fifth edition. Under the slogan "Together", the biennale presents some 200 works by artists from 50 countries. Highlights of the exhibition include works by Václav Cigler (Czech Republic), one of the most influential figures in the development of optical glass and conceptual sculpture; a blown glass artwork by the world-famous Dale Chihuly (USA); a vase with applied elements of mythological symbolism by the Murano master Lucio Bubacco (Italy), and a spatial analytical work by artist and architect Han de Kluijver (Netherlands). The full program with accompanying events: https://glassbiennale.nbu.bg/events-2025/
¬ Valentin Startchev / Through Time / retrospective exhibition / curated by Boryana Valchanova, PhD / National Gallery, Kvadrat 500, 1 19th February Str. / October 16 - January 18. “The exhibition is dedicated to Prof. Valentin Startchev’s 90th anniversary and, albeit retrospective, presents only a portion of his impressive and multilayered output. The carefully selected artworks follow the sequence and progress of his formal and conceptual searches over the years: from small sculptures, through sculptural compositions and monuments at key locations in the urban and cultural topography of Bulgaria and beyond, to the latest works specifically conceived and produced for the Kvadrat 500 galleries.” - Boryana Valchanova, PhD https://tinyurl.com/2m3p8c9m
¬ Anton Vidokle / Irradiation / solo show / curated by Martina Yordanova and Vasil Vladimirov / National Gallery, The Palace, 1 Knyaz Alexander I Square / October 23 - January 25. “The exhibition brings together six of Vidokle’s films made over the past decade in dialogue with a special installation of twenty-four Himalayan landscapes by Nicholas Roerich, created between the early and mid-20th century.Filmed across Kazakhstan, Siberia, Japan, Italy, and Mesopotamia, Vidokle’s works weave together documentary, performance, and essay, inviting reflection on death and immortality, ecology and spirituality, and the possibility of art as a vehicle for collective transformation.” - Martina Yordanova https://tinyurl.com/bddu3339
¬ Bistra Vinarova–Radeva (1890–1977) / Beyond the portrait / retrospective exhibition / curated by Plamena Dimitrova-Racheva / National Gallery, The Palace, 1 Knyaz Alexander I Square / November 7 - 30. “The exhibition showcases the portrait art of Bistra Vinarova–Radeva – one of the most refined and distinguished figures in Bulgarian modern art. The artist stands out as a bearer of subtle psychological insight and emotional depth that transcend the surface of the image. “Beyond the Portrait” reveals Bistra Vinarova’s world through the faces that surrounded her – the people she painted and those who inspired her artistic vision. The exhibition shows how life becomes art – how the image beyond the portrait tells the story of an extraordinary woman who left an enduring mark on Bulgarian culture.” - Plamena Dimitrova-Racheva https://tinyurl.com/29bf98wu
¬ Denitsa Todorova / Metaphor for memory / solo show / curated by Diana Draganova - Stier / The Vera Nedkova House Museum, 2, 11 August St. / June 17 - November 21. “Denitsa Todorova was born in Plovdiv but has lived and worked in Antwerp for many years. Impressed by the museum in the centre of Sofia, she has prepared an exhibition titled ‘Metaphor for Memory’, an emotional return to and reflectiveness on memories and the past. The works offer a nuanced and symbolic exploration of the imaginary space where the sensitivity of women and their fragility and transformation are mirrored. The project fills the Vera Nedkova House Museum with a fine, delicate energy that blends into the artist’s creative imagery. Her interpretive vision propounds the issue of underrepresented ‘stories’ of women in the history of art.” - Diana Draganova - Stier https://tinyurl.com/z2mwr2nd
¬ Vasil Zahariev. 130th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth / retrospective exhibition / curated by Lyuben Domozetski / Sofia City Art Gallery, 1 Gurko St. / September 24 - November 23. “ The study of Zahariev’s life and work seeks to present a balanced view of his artistic development, bringing attention not only to the well-known graphic works of the 1920s and 1930s, but also to his less explored paintings, watercolors, drawings, decorative projects, and early works. Zahariev’s contribution to the development of printmaking in Bulgaria has long been well recognized. Yet if we look beyond the graphic image, we see a body of work that is diverse yet steadily evolving, built from start to finish with remarkable persistence and consistency, with the depth of a researcher studying antiquities and seeking the immediacy of pre-academic artistic language, with a distinct sense of purpose, and above all with the clear awareness that he carries within himself the spirit of an entire era of Bulgarian art.” - Lyuben Domozetski https://tinyurl.com/besdmbv3
¬ Ivan Vukadinov / Picture outside the picture / retrospective exhibition / Sofia City Art Gallery, 1 Gurko St. / September 16 - November 23. This is the first major retrospective exhibition dedicated to Ivan Vukadinov (1932–2024) – the only Bulgarian artist accepted into the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Vatican Museums. Over 130 works in the exhibition unfold the evolution of Vukadinov’s work: from traditional academic painting, mastered in the “Painting” studio under Prof. Nenko Balkanski, and his early manifestations of impressionistic plein air and visual naturalism; through his path of discoveries in the technique of encaustic and the symbolism of color, which led him to transcendent aesthetics and his characteristic style; to the deconstruction of forms and volumes in his late cycles, where color dominates over form and plot. https://tinyurl.com/2neaf8mn
¬ Nevena Ekimova / Fangirl / solo show / curated by Reneta Georgieva / Vaska Emanuilova Gallery, 15 Yanko Sakazov Blvd. / October 29 – December 7. “In the exhibition, Nevena Ekimova embarks on a personal and artistic act of return – towards herself, her past, and the men who inhabited it. Having crossed the symbolic threshold of her forties, Nevena unfolds her artistic language – drawing, sculpture, textiles, words, and music – to map the inner world where archetypes and personal memories mingle like souvenirs: from the father as the first object of adoration and psychological formation, through the fleeting idols of adolescence and adulthood, to the gallery of men and boys in whom she has seen herself mirrored, fallen in love, been let down, and fantasized about. The exhibition assembles emotional trophies from stories lived and left untold, visually archiving them into an intimate mythology. FANGIRL is not merely an exploration of the desires seen through a woman’s gaze – it is a candid confession of the artistic dependence on those desires, on fixation, on longing.” - Reneta Georgieva https://tinyurl.com/5n7bayda
¬ Stoyan Iliev / Monument of a clear conscience / solo show / UBA, 6 Shipka Str. / November 3 - 14. Stoyan Ilev is among the established young Bulgarian artists. His presence on the art scene is distinguished by an expressive artistic language. Stoyan Ilev's paintings, presented in the exhibition, explore themes related to human moral choices and the loss of personal responsibility in modern society. The author focuses his attention on the mechanisms of self-justification and dissolution of guilt in collective behavior, raising the question of the boundaries between good and evil in an era of blurring values. https://tinyurl.com/ufc8spvd
¬ Snezha and Franz: Zweisamkeit / exhibition installation / UBA, Rayko Aleksiev Hall, 125 Rakovski Str. / November 4 - 15. A day after the premiere of Svetoslav Draganov's documentary film "Snezha and Franz", viewers will be able to immerse themselves in the world of the characters through the installation exhibition. For the first time in Bulgaria, the handmade textile reliefs of Snezha Draganova-Horner and Super 8 mm films by Franz Horner meet in one space. The two visual arts - textile and film - are intertwined in a specially created conditional artistic environment. At the same time independent and following their own dramatic narrative, the film and the installation "Snezha and Franz" complement each other and create a common puzzle - a visual and emotional portrait of love, self-expression and freedom beyond borders and time. https://tinyurl.com/5y6huz8x
¬ What Do We Remember With? / group show / curated by Iara Bubnova / ICA-Sofia Gallery, 134 Vasil Levski Blvd. / October 16 - November 14. “The exhibition is structured around research on memory formulated by women—literary scholars Aleida Assmann, Ann Rigney, and Astrid Erll. Once the curator found the necessary internal balance, the exhibition took shape around their concept of cultural memory—a type of memory that recognizes everyone’s right to have their own impressions of the past. Here, the past is not presented as a collection of competing narratives, but as a visualization of fragments.” - Iara Bubnova. With works by Luchezar Boyadjiev, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Martin Penev, Nedko Solakov, Krassimir Terziev. https://tinyurl.com/msjhtsj6
¬ Sven Jone / Medicinal plants in the deadly zone / solo exhibition / Goethe-Institut, 1 Budapest Str. / October 23 - December 2. Artist Sven Jone is visiting Bulgaria for the first time to present two of his more recent series, in which he deepens his interests in memory and the problematization of history. Sven Jone's works are distinguished by their documentary and conceptual approach. He is characterized by the combination of historical research and fictional narratives. Jone explores aspects of the present and past of East Germany, the feeling of political powerlessness and the general thirst for change; he is interested in the "footnotes of world history". https://tinyurl.com/ydurhxs3
¬ Marta Djourina / Fluid Light / solo show / Sarieva Gallery @ DOT, Sofia, 46, Bratya Miladinovi str., Women’s Market / October 1 - November 16. “Djourina’s process deliberately establishes a radical dependence on light as both subject and medium. The works are not merely abstract images; they are events—records of energy, of collision, of flow. The exhibition title, Fluid Light, encapsulates the essence of this practice. Fluid is both a state of matter and a metaphor—shifting, unstable, impossible to confine in one place. Under the artist’s orchestration, light behaves like liquid: it spills across surfaces, seeps into folds, gathers in chromatic gradients. Yet fluidity is also corporeal. These images pulse like blood vessels; their chromatic tides echo abrupt breathing or the shimmer of a tear.” - Boris Kostadinov https://fb.me/e/aVgo8w74a
¬ Chushkopek. Stories in the making / group exhibition / curated by Adriana Andreeva and Boiana Gjaurova (Komplekt) / Melba Festival 2025, Porta Gallery, 5 Triaditsa Str. / November 6 - 16. This exhibition revisits the history of Bulgarian everyday life through the lens of the chushkopek (pepper roaster)—an object that has undergone many transformations over the past fifty years. By exploring its design and cultural significance, we seek to understand how this humble appliance became an icon of domestic life. Participants : Albena Todorova, Alina Papazova, Denitsa Boyadzhieva, Zahari Radev, Ilian Iliev, Mila Mineva, Mila Yaneva-Tabakova, Studio Tash. https://festival.melba.bg/en/exhibition
¬ Karol Śliwka / The legend of Polish design / retrospective exhibition / Melba Festival 2025, Gallery of the Polish Institutе, 12 Veslets Str. / November 7 - 30. MELBA Festival and Karol Śliwka Foundation present a special exhibition dedicated to the legendary Polish graphic designer Karol Śliwka. The exhibition features 20 carefully selected posters from his prolific body of work. Recognized as a master of the logo, Śliwka transformed the symbol into the central language of his art. The selected works reveal the power of simple form and the elegance with which he conveyed universal messages through a clear and memorable visual language. https://festival.melba.bg/en/extras/karol-shlivka
¬ Screens and schemes / group show / curated by Vessela Nozharova and Alexandra Karpuchina / Credo Bonum Gallery, 2 Slavyanska str. / November 18 - January 4. The exhibition explores pressing issues of media disinformation, fake news, and political propaganda. Although the main instrument of disinformation is often the image itself, the visual arts rarely address this issue directly. Screens and schemes is a joint project by two galleries – Credo Bonum (Sofia) and Karpuchina Gallery (Prague) – presenting the perspectives of six contemporary Bulgarian and Czech artists on these complex themes. Created specifically for this project, the works span a range of media – from painting and sculpture to video – reflecting on the mechanisms that distort reality and the human perspective within these processes. https://tinyurl.com/4afy2s29
¬ Onur Kaymak / Ooobjects / solo show / curated by Stanimir Stoyanov / CCA Toplocentrala Gallery - Cube, 5 Emil Bersinski Str. / November 11 - December 2. In Ooobjects, Onur Kaymak constructs a meditative space where things speak — not in words, but through textures, ruptures, and silent intensities. Inspired by Object-Oriented Ontology (ООО) and the shifting role of matter in contemporary thought, the exhibition unfolds as a series of portraits of nonhuman presence. Each object — be it stone, hose, wave, or dust — appears not as a symbol or tool but as a being with its own interiority, its own unknowable essence. https://tinyurl.com/27xu6ptd
¬ Liz Elton / Takeaway / solo show / Punta Gallery, 37 Stefan Stambolov Blvd. and Cable Depot, 39 Stefan Stambolov Blvd. / November 7 - December 6. Liz Elton’s practice considers issues of waste, compost and recycling. In a series of large-scale works, Elton addresses the repetitive actions of growing and buying vegetables, preparing and consuming food. The exhibition includes works created from household textiles and compost bags, painted with kitchen waste and sewn with silk. The medium of her works suggests inevitable decay, but the seeds woven into them, purchased from the market in Sofia or collected from vegetables grown by Elton, provide an opportunity for new life, even after the death of the oeuvre. With this gesture, Liz Elton raises questions about the durability and cyclicity not only of organic matter, but also of the work of art per se. The exhibition continues at Cable Depot gallery, where the artist explores topics of preservation and accumulation of products through the rituals of serving and consuming meals. https://fb.me/e/5lYz0KN5u
¬ Tzotcho Boyadjiev / Once I was / solo exhibition / Synthesis Gallery, 55 “Vasil Levski” Blvd / October 16 – November 22. The exhibition takes as its starting point “Once I Was”, one of the latest poetry books of the renowned Bulgarian philosopher and poet Tzotcho Boyadjiev, and presents forty poetic études. The life and creative path of Tzotcho Boyadjiev are marked by a unique synthesis of world-class academic research, a devotion to translation, original poetic work, and a deep love for photography. With his contribution in the field of humanities and literature, he stands among the most significant names in contemporary Bulgarian culture. https://tinyurl.com/3kcc4z7p
¬ Kaloyan Todorov / Berlin 2579 / solo show / Alma Mater Gallery, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", 15 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. / November 6 - 30. In 1979, when the International Congress Center in Berlin opened its doors, a concrete wall still divided not only the city, but the entire world. The architecture of the Congress Center then hastened to foresee a different future - modern, technological and progressive, in which the machine and man exist in harmony. Kaloyan Todorov's exhibition explores the clash between dreams of the future and the reality of the present. Today, the symbol of modernity from the 20th century has become a bygone vision, because Berlin does not follow pre-drawn contours, but is shaped by the natural rhythm of its inhabitants. The photographs tell the story of these people - free, colorful and creating their own present. "Berlin 2579" is a visual conversation between the technological optimism of the International Congress Center and today's Berlin - a city where freedom of the spirit is a way of life.
¬ Philippe Bazin and Christiane Vollaire / Under the Light of Fireflies: Bulgaria in the Events of 2013 / joint exhibition / UniArt Gallery, New Bulgarian University, 21 Montevideo Str. / October 28 - November 14. The exhibition takes us back to one of the most painful events in recent Bulgarian history – over thirty self-immolations that occurred against the backdrop of the protests against the energy monopolies and the Oresharski government #DANSwithme. In 2014, the two authors traveled to meet with the survivors, the relatives and acquaintances of the self-immolators, as well as to film the places where people turned their bodies into an act of protest. Each photograph reveals one of these “non-places” – urban or rural landscapes, devoid of human presence, which become silent monuments dedicated to bodies, testifying to the collective thirst for a better future. The exhibition destroys the myth of “individual tragedy”, of the “mentally unstable” and invites us to recognize in these gestures an act of resistance against the system. https://tinyurl.com/m99us3ev
¬ Andris Eglītis / Circulation / solo show / curated by Snejana Krasteva / +359 Gallery, 13A “Galichitza” Str. / October 16 - December 16. A conceptual artist exploring the various liminal ways of being in the world, Andris Eglītis works with painting as a medium in an expanded field. “Circulation”—an immersive installation created specifically for the century-old water tower in Sofia—is inspired, on one hand, by his expedition earlier this year across Eastern Europe and by the clashing feelings of familiarity and exoticism he experienced. https://fb.me/e/3Gnn5mt91
¬ Andris Eglītis / Earthworks / solo show / curated by Snejana Krasteva / Charta Gallery, 12 Vrabcha Str. / October 17 - November 17. Coinciding with his large-scale site-specific installation “Circulation” at Plus359 Gallery, Latvian artist Andris Eglītis is showcasing an important body of works from the series “Earthworks” at Charta Gallery. True to his philosophical and existential approach to painting that is rooted in a very intense observation of nature, this ongoing series of works is a repetitive exploration of materiality, executed literally with nature–covered with mud and earth, often with traces of being buried into the ground or left to the elements in the woods. https://fb.me/e/8sekD1Cxk
¬ Vitto Valentinov / Density of presence / solo show / Charta Gallery, 12 Vrabcha Str. / November 21 - December 21. The exhibition thematizes transformation, the process of reorganization, metamorphosis, merger, refinement, and transition. It explores changes of form, state, matter, energy, and force, the process of turning one thing into another. The object of this transformation that could be interpreted both creatively and destructively is the snake’s body. Space, matter, and energy are expressed in the drawings through a specific language. Gridded fields host a geometric mise-en-scène of colorful or monochrome actions. Matter is sometimes dense, but often alternates with empty space, thus charging the drawings with vibrating energy. https://tinyurl.com/mrsrkwwv
¬ Jordan Ralph / Secular Shrine Theory / solo show / Melba Festival 2025, Depoo Gallery, 12 Vrabcha Str. / November 6 - 16. Secular Shrine Theory explores the idea of the shrine beyond religion — as a personal, inner space for contemplation, connection, and self-awareness. The title draws its meaning from a 19th-century Japanese theory of the same name, according to which Shinto shrines were perceived as secular rather than religious sites — symbols of cultural identity and national memory. In his interpretation, Jordan Ralph transforms this historical concept into a contemporary manifesto — an attempt to discover the sacred in the everyday, the spiritual in the material, and freedom in the act of creation. https://tinyurl.com/ye6xmhsc
¬ Sonya Kovacheva / On her way… / solo show / Arosita Gallery, 12B Vrabcha Str. / October 30 - November 18. “Over the years, I have always been interested in preserving traditions and cultural exchange between different cultures. Textiles with their diversity give me the opportunity to travel through time to different places - real or imaginary and to get to know their cultures. In this exhibition, I present paintings in which I collage my own hand-dyed silk, draw fragments of my favorite places, and paint with acrylic paints. My work with silk delicately transports me to another time and culture, the fragments remind me of places and thoughts that I love to return to, and painting and color give me the freedom to experiment.” - Sonya Kovacheva https://tinyurl.com/98wpxynd
¬ Kyril Buhowski / Balkan Stories / solo show / curated by Georgi P. Pavlov / Doza Gallery, 52 Tsar Samuil Str. / November 5 - 15. In his debut exhibition ‚Balkan Stories,‘ the artist Kyril Buhowski shares fragments of this constant movement between here and there, between the West and the Balkans, between the self and the others. His paintings are deeply personal yet remain open to the collective. They question without moralizing and search for the human being as a composite of places, objects, memories, and desires. https://tinyurl.com/3uwsnm4s
PLOVDIV
¬ The Monumental. Five Plovdiv Artists and Their Trace in the City / anniversary exhibition / curated by Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva / Ivan Vazov National Library – Plovdiv, Plovdiv Art Gallery, Kapana Gallery, 29 Rayko Daskalov Str. / November 13 – January 11. The exhibition is organized in honor of the 90th anniversaries of the birth of Georgi Bozhilov – The Elephant and Dimitar Kirov and in memory of Encho Pironkov. Known as the “Plovdiv Five” and as the “magnificent ones”, the names of Georgi Bozhilov – The Elephant, Dimitar Kirov, Yoan Leviev, Hristo Stefanov and Encho Pironkov are the brightest heroes of the period of the 60s and 70s and the processes of “thawing” of the art scene in Bulgaria that were taking place at that time. The five Plovdiv artists have been described as “bohemians,” as “revolutionaries,” and even as a “school” that stands out against the general backdrop of government-directed art and thematic general exhibitions. The exhibition presents these authors in a less familiar light, as monumentalists. https://tinyurl.com/57surnhx
¬ Background: Young Artists 2025 / Radoslav Angelov / bliss / solo show / Sarieva/Gallery, 40 Otets Paisiy Str. / September 1 - November 28. Sarieva/Gallery, Plovdiv presents a new edition of the long-standing platform Background: Young Artists with the first solo exhibition of the young self-taught painter Radoslav Angelov. His works reflect a conservative classical aesthetic—realistic composition and technique, mainly seascapes and still lifes, some painted en plein air and traditionally framed. Contemporary elements appear subtly—bottles of popular drinks, surfboards, iPads—while the themes explore social engagement and societal issues such as loneliness, ecological crises, and overconsumption. The paintings convey intimacy with the subject, lightness, tactility, and joy in simple pleasures. https://tinyurl.com/3p8usjb3
VARNA
¬ Miryana Pelovska / Short stories / solo exhibition / Varna City Art Gallery, 1 "Lyuben Karavelov" Str. / November 11 - December 2. The exhibition includes charcoal drawings and paintings, executed in mixed media. The works are inspired by the literary world of Yordan Yovkov and Yordan Radichkov. They are not illustrations of specific stories, but free visual interpretations, guided by the atmosphere, imagery and human depth in their work. The author shares that she strives “to capture the states in which words become images, and images – sensations”. https://tinyurl.com/f885tjzb
¬ Dimitar Traichev / Wet / solo exhibition / Varna City Art Gallery, “Georgi Velchev” studio, 8 Gen. Radko Dimitriev St. / November 4 - December 8. Dimitar Traichev presents his digital memories of the Northern Black Sea Coast, created in plein air conditions. The exhibition includes more than 20 chamber works, as well as several large-format ones. This selection is part of the author’s larger collection, containing over 120 works. The works are vector images, which provides flexibility of size and purity of form. Dimitar Traichev describes his process as plein air – “sketches and photographs taken on the ground, inspired by travels along our Northern coast”. https://tinyurl.com/2t5bh5m8
KAZANLAK
¬ Resurfacing / group exhibition / curated by Maria Vassileva / Art Gallery - Kazanlak, 9 Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii Str. and other locations / October 18 - March 29. Resurfacing is the third edition of the Art Everywhere project by Art Gallery Kazanlak. In an era marked by upheaval, Resurfacing becomes an urgent conversation about what we must leave behind us in order to move ahead. The exhibition reflects the conflicts, pain and injustices of our present. https://www.artgallerykazanlak.com/en/exhibitions/resurfacing/
¬ The End of a Year. Munich 1923 / archive exhibition / curated by Anton Staykov and Svoboda Tsekova / Art Gallery - Kazanlak, Dechko Uzunov House Museum, 24 Knyaz Mirski Str. / October 14 - May 14. Exhibition curators immerse themselves in the challenge of creating an installation that inhabits the borderland between an intimate exhibition and a library reading room. The narrative is concentrated in one of the rooms of the Dechko Uzunov House Museum; not just in a room, in fact, but in and around a single chest of drawers. That’s where the exhibition begins: with the rescued, unknown, and previously unstudied drawing by Rayko Alexiev from 1923. Through text and images—photographs, archival documents, reproductions of paintings—visitors are enveloped in the atmosphere and context of that “crazy” year, when disaster for some became an opportunity for others. https://tinyurl.com/ycyy2eww
¬ Ivo Bistrichki / Metamorphoses / solo show / Art Gallery Kazanlak, 9 Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii Str. / August 23 - November 30. Ivo Bistrichki is a contemporary Bulgarian artist who excavates mythological layers to create visual narratives of the present. His work focuses on the influence of the modern world on the individual, expressed through the historical and psychological strata embedded in mythological imagery. His compositions often incorporate everyday objects and elements of nature, transforming them into ritual implements or compositional devices. A hallmark of his art is the combination of painting with photography and collage, deconstructing images and “wounding” the canvas surface. https://tinyurl.com/2vwf37bv
VELIKO TARNOVO
¬ Johanna Sevholt / If you are meeting a dog, If you are meeting a jackal / solo show / Heerz Tooya Gallery, 18 “Ivan Vazov” Str. / October 24 - November 15. Johanna Sevholt’s (b.1989, Sweden) practice is based in a dialogue with mediums such as clay, paint, sound and printmaking. She is interested in how they can reflect relationships and concepts through repetition. https://tinyurl.com/234k9x3u
ART CAREER
¬ Open call for exhibitions and other short-term artistic performances in 2026 / Alma Mater Gallery, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" / Deadline for applications November 30. The spaces of the Alma Mater Gallery are suitable for exhibiting solo and group exhibitions with two-dimensional and spatial works from various fields of contemporary visual arts; curatorial projects; documentary exhibitions; as well as short-term events of various nature (performance, video art, multimedia, etc.). https://tinyurl.com/pmnp4hyy
¬ Open call for visual projects in the CCA "Toplocentrala" gallery / Application deadline December 7. Cube Gallery – Toplocentrala announces an open call for the co-production of an exhibition to be presented in 2026. The selected project will be exhibited at the Gallery in November and/or December 2026. https://toplocentrala.bg/en/open-calls
Monthly edition by Open Art Foundation
¬ news selection : Desislava Mileva
¬ logo : Nedko Solakov
¬ cover : Kyril Buhowski, Brutality II, detail, in the solo show “Balkan Stories”, curated by Georgi P. Pavlov, Doza Gallery, 52 Tsar Samuil Str., Sofia, November 5 - 15.