BULGARIAN-SERBIAN DIALOGUE IN ART
On February 16, 2023, the official opening of the exhibition "Landscape or Inner Space" took place in the crowded hall of the Mission Gallery at the State Cultural Institute of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Original and new works by two professors from the Art Academies in Sofia and Belgrade - Prof. Dimitre Pecić, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Arts and Prof. Svetozar Benchev, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of the National Academy of Arts, fascinated the audience and filled the space with high aesthetics. Diplomats, ambassadors, professors and students from the National Academy of Arts, connoisseurs of contemporary Bulgarian and Serbian art were present.
Prof. Svilen Stefanov from the Department of Art Studies, History of Art of the 20th Century, opened the exhibition with the words: "I would like to say something that touches me in a purely professional sense from this exhibition. Prof. Pečić is one of the most prominent professors in Serbia, who deals specifically with letterpress printing. What you see may seem minimalistic, but this is extremely complex and delicate work. In my opinion, in Serbia they have an exceptional school in this regard. We are talking about a reductionism here. Every single detail is in place. The two authors are united by the sense of what and where the contemporary work of art can be, the sense of measure is visible. Everyone can work in one or another technique, but at some point each author makes his own choice. Prof. Benchev and Prof. Pecić are prominently present in the contemporary field of art, with a great attention to detail. We are talking about an exceptionally high culture of thinking. It is handed down today in their paintings.”
Prof. Benchev expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, together with his Serbian colleague Dimitre Pecić, to be show their works at the Mission Gallery and for the excellent organization of the exhibition. He shared the inspiration he drew for the preparation of his paintings from a 1905 French Almanac of Fine Arts containing photographs of sirens.
As the host of the event, the director of the Institute, Mrs. Snezhana Yoveva, presented the artists and the idea of their guest appearance as part of the "Balkan Dialogues" program, through which artists from the region are given the opportunity to perform and communicate through and with their work.
A special guest at the event was the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia H.E. Željko Jović, who in his official welcome emphasized how important and useful such projects are, which help us get to know each other as friendly neighbors. He thanked the team of the state Institute for Culture and the artists who chose to present themselves through this interesting exhibition for their initiative and wished them further success.
The works of both authors treat the theme of the imaginary landscape in different ways – as a scene bathed in warm light, or a place of violent collisions between the elements. The viewer is invited to enter a dreamy reality full of harmony, as well as to dive into the depths of the subconscious - a space full of legends, fantasies and premonitions. The authors, who know each other and have participated in collective international events, are now for the first time preparing a joint project with the State Institute for Culture at the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a gesture of friendship, exchange of ideas and creation of a mutually shared cultural space. The exhibition can be visited every weekday until March 16, 2023.
Photographs: Stefan Markoff