There is no doubt that the exhibition of works by Prof. Gredi Assa which opened at the Sofia Art Gallery on April 29 will be a pivotal event in the world of painting for 2014. His talent takes us to a realm of vivid vision, his concern to preserve the beauty of our planet is striking. His 49 large canvases are a testimony to the homage he pays to nature and to art.

Gredi Assa has had dozens of exhibitions in this country and abroad and has specialized in Paris and New York. The exposition marks the artist’s jubilee – he recently turned 60. And its metaphorical title – Crossing the desert – is a blend of his knowledge, his bitterness, his hope and wisdom.

“What I mean is the desert inside us and the desert around, the desert in the everyday lives we lead. The things that surround us, the things we cannot evade but have to face head on and continue on our way. In the desert we find the answer to many of our questions. There you will find everything – wind, dreams and mirages – all you have to do is make your choice”, says Gredi Assa for Radio Bulgaria. What is the choice he has made?

“I choose mirages”, the painter admits. “The fact that you can see them, that you can recognize them for what they are – a starting point - and that is the idea, the goal. This forms part of an artist’s inspiration, experience, imagination. Because you can only see a mirage if you really want to. That is when you will see the oasis as a haven.”

The artist has many poetic words to say about the desert and its endlessness, a place where he feels he is a discoverer of unexpected beauty. But also of “surmounting” four decades of painting, of his outlook on life throughout that time. And this is also an allusion to the bible – the 40 years it took Moses to take his people to the Promised Land. The desert’s innumerable dunes have made Gredi Assa feel like a speck of sand, but “a speck with its own inner world, a world of freedom, hope and inspiration.”

The exhibition features different genres, including portraits. One of them is a portrait of renowned Bulgarian film director Dimitar Gochev who worked in Germany for many years and who passed away a few months ago.

“We were friends and he collected my works, so we have talked about modern art a great deal”, the artist goes on to say. “He would inspire me with faith and strength and that is why I have included his portrait in the exposition. I am displaying portraits of people I have felt close to or people who have made me feel good.”

Vanishing beauty, concern for the Maldives or for Venice are things Gredi Assa cares about. “The Maldives are disappearing, as is Venice, the diversity of nature is melting away”, he says. “We might well be the reason why this is happening and I have made a note of it in my pictures. Venice is an incredible place not just for actors or painters, it has a power of attraction for all kinds of art, for architecture. There is food for the soul – it is not something I can define right now – but I very much hope the visitors to the exhibition will see that wherever man may find himself, he must look upon his own life cheerfully, with more optimism. ”

What would Gredi Assa like to wish his students?

“I very much hope that my students will choose their own, unique path in life. That they will not skip over from one thing to another but will follow their road with peace of mind. Because that is what will take them to finer goals. And one other thing – that they will not be artists of momentary sensations, of the things that come and go. That they will see the small things, the dandelion under their feet, the blue skies, the mountain. That they will distinguish between different moods and integrate them in their works to get a feel of life as it is – the life of an artist.”

English version: Milena Daynova