The State Institute for Culture Participates in the Retrospective Exhibition “A Picture Outside the Picture” by Ivan Vukadinov
The State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs is participating in 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. The exhibition, entitled “A Picture Outside the Picture”, opens at the Sofia City Art Gallery and presents over 130 works tracing the creative path of one of the most significant and mysterious Bulgarian artists.
The State Institute for Culture participates in the exhibition with the painting “Village” (1974, oil on canvas, 70x100 cm) from the art collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The work is representative of Vukadinov’s mature period, in which he built his characteristic style through specific color symbolism and the deep spirituality of artistic expression.
The catalogue of the Sofia City Art Gallery for the exhibition also includes other works from the collection of the State Historical Museum – “Fields” (40x50 cm), “Landscape I” (40x50 cm), “Landscape II” (40x50 cm), “Still Life”, 1974 (50x40 cm), “Plough” (50x70 cm), “Still Life with Fish” (40x50 cm).
The retrospective unfolds the creative path of Ivan Vukadinov – from his early academic and impressionistic searches to the mastery of the encaustic technique and the achievement of his unique plastic language, in which color dominates over form and plot. A bilingual album with nearly 400 works has been prepared for the exhibition, which for the first time comprehensively presents the artist’s entire oeuvre.
The exhibition and the accompanying printed publication were realized by the team of the Sofia City Art Gallery in partnership with Prof. Aksinia Dzhurova, with the assistance of the artist's family, as well as with the support of the Sofia Municipality and the Ministry of Culture.