The Union of Bulgarian Artists and the Sofia Press Gallery-Bookstore present an exhibition of paintings by Anatoliy Stankulov titled „With the Colors of Bulgaria,“ which opened on December 9 and will be on display until January 10, 2025. Here’s what the artist shared:
“This exhibition has two cycles. One is called ‘Somewhere Behind the Houses is the Sea.’ The other is ‘The Outskirts,’ at the edge of the village. ‘The Outskirts’ started during my Paris period, when I lived in Paris for a year. I chose to paint the outskirts because they are more colorful and human, with more soul than the polished buildings in the city center. Notably, I don’t paint from nature. I only observe nature, photograph it a few times, and then entirely paint the landscape in my studio. I change a lot from nature, recomposing and recoloring it. I want to experience the landscape in my own way, not literally copying real nature. At the same time, I never include human figures, animals, or birds. I rely entirely on the texture, the colors, the composition of the houses, and the landscape. I don’t use figures of people or animals in the landscapes. I prefer them to be felt through the spirit of the landscape. It’s as if they are peeking out from somewhere, but they are not there. There must be soul in the painting, as my professor Rumen Skorchev used to say. It should not be dry, it should have soul. In fact, in this cycle ‘Somewhere Behind the Houses is the Sea,’ there is no seascape. But it is felt somewhere, and in the state of the painting, it is felt that the sea is somewhere behind, and we can go to it. It should only be felt, not seen directly.”
Emil Drindolov Text, video, and photos
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