Until end-June the European Parliament is hosting the exhibition Synergy featuring Bulgarian fine art. It presents works by contemporary Bulgarian artists from the collections of the National Art Gallery in Sofia, and of the European Parliament. Visitors are welcome to enjoy artworks by Prof. Andrei Daniel, Boris Missirkov, Georgi Bogdanov, Prof. Stanislav Pamukchiev and others.

The display is part of the cultural events held on the sidelines of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Art critic Nadezhda Dzhakova, curator of the exhibition, says more:

“Since January 2011, the European Parliament has been mounting exhibitions with works of art from its own collection as a way to mark each of the rotating presidencies of the Council of EU. This year marks Bulgaria’s first-ever presidency, and by the end of June visitors have the chance of seeing a selection of works by Bulgarian artists from the European Parliament collection. In 2011, the European Parliament bought Bulgarian works of art that are part of the current display. Apart from that we were invited to show pieces from the collections of the National Art Gallery.”

The notions of „synergy” and synergism” are widely used in various fields of science, economy and business. What is the message in the works of art brought together under the heading Synergy? Mrs Dzhakova explains:

“Synergy is creating a whole which exceeds the mechanical sum of its parts. This is the idea behind the exhibition presenting Bulgarian art. Well, of course, it accentuates a few names and works but it also seeks to convey a more general idea about this country. While being part of the programme of events for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of EU, the exhibition also marks 2018 as a European Year of Cultural Heritage. So we can find synergy also in the presentation of the Bulgarian cultural heritage as part of a larger whole, notably, the cultural heritage, the architectural environment and the synergism linked to their research and the presentation of the selected works.”

How have the works for the exhibition been selected?

“The display focuses on works related to cultural heritage and more particularly, the place of the present-day man in his environment. They are presented by artists who work with various media. Again there is synergism in the union of media and culture. Contemporary Bulgarian art explores a diversity of subjects, genres and techniques including photography, video art, installations and painting. No matter how diverse though, all works explore the presence of man in today‘s world.”

The video artwork of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adelina Popnedeleva entitled “A masochistic performance after Hans Christian Andersen”, offers both a reference to the past and to the present day exploring the role of women in the contemporary world. What else can visitors see?

“I suppose that viewers will easily capture various themes and subthemes in the exhibition. The artwork ‘Weekend Year 2126’ by Missirkov-Bogdanov for example, delivers a series of photographs featuring the monuments of communism in Bulgaria seen by the future generation. Artists try to see how posterity would look at our past. I guess this theme will be of interest to visitors of the European Parliament.

Andrei Daniel also comments the past. Artist Svetlana Mircheva’s work is about the Glagolitic script which is important for the connections of the Bulgarian culture with the European one”, says in conclusion curator Nadezhda Dzhakova.

English version:  Daniela Konstantinova