Silistra Art Gallery

LOCATION

The Silistra Art Gallery is located at "Svoboda" Square, Silistra, Silistra Municipality, Silistra District, 429 km away from Sofia. There is a bus three times a day leaving from the Sofia Central Bus Station to Silistra, as well as a train three times a day from the Sofia Central Railway Station.

DESCRIPTION

The Silistra Art Gallery is housed in the former Pedagogical School built in 1892. Over 1500 works of art (paintings, graphics, sculpture, etc.) are exhibited by the great Bulgarian artists - Vladimir Dimitrov - the Master, Dechko Uzunov, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev and others.

HISTORY

The gallery was built in 1892 for a pedagogical school under the design of the famous Viennese architect Edwin Petritzki in a late-secession style. It is currently a monument of culture of local importance. On the roof there is a clock tower with a clockwork that is from the middle of the 18th century, produced by the Czech company Heinz-Prague, and has four dials, each pointing the four directions of the world.

The Gallery was opened on 3 March 1972 by the Party and State Chief Todor Zhivkov. At the time the young painter Yordan Kisyov was the curator, and later he became its first director. On May 24, 1986 under the direction of Georgi Yordanov from the Culture Committee and the artist Svetlin Rusev the general art exhibition "Man and nature" was opened in Silistra. During the same time the entire building is declared an Art Gallery. It not only increases its exhibition area, but also enriches its fund in the field of painting, graphics and sculpture. On the second floor is the permanent exhibition, which currently has 200 works, and the first floor hosts temporary exhibitions of famous artists from Silistra, the country and abroad.

Vladimir Dimitrov – the Master is one of the most famous Bulgarian artists. His works are characterized by the fact that the colors are bright. His paintings are one of the most sought after and expensive Bulgarian works. Many of them have disappeared around the world as they have been the subject of theft. Some are owned by movie stars, and two are in the White House. There are his paintings in the museums in Washington and Philadelphia. About 300 are owned by private collectors. All creativity counts 2600 works around the world. The gallery in Silistra has 6 of them. [1]

Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, another Bulgarian painter, has two periods in his creativity, the second is when his right hand paralyzes and he works with the left hand. This fact distinguishes two periods and two styles. His works are in different places in the country, with most of them in Plovdiv and several in Silistra.[2]

In addition to the iconic hall 13, the gallery has a concert hall with a stage and a piano with 50 seats. The Club of the Artist, where temporary exhibitions are arranged, is also restored.

For 46 years, the gallery occupied an important place in the cultural life of Silistra and became a truly functioning museum of fine arts, along with the established ones in Northeastern Bulgaria - Varna, Dobrich, Razgrad, Targovishte, Rousse. The Silistra Gallery prides itself with works of artists such as Stoyan Venev, Vladimir Dimitrov - The Master, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Dechko Uzunov, Ilia Petrov, Nenko Balkanski, Alexander Poplilov and other great names from Bulgarian painting. From the contemporary ones we can meet the likes of Svetlin Russev, Georgi Bozhilov, Dimitar Ostojich, Dimitar Kirov, Rumen Skorchev, Lyuben Dimanov, Georgi Chapkanov, Petar Chuklev and many others.

Hall 13 on the second floor is extremely popular thanks to the regularly held various cultural events - recitals, chamber concerts and literature presentations by authors, among the works from the permanent collection,. As such, the Silistra Art Gallery has established itself as a true museum of Bulgarian fine arts and a significant center in the cultural life of Silistra. The Silistra Gallery is the names of artists such as Stoyan Venev, Vladimir Dimitrov - The Master, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Dechko Uzunov, Ilia Petrov, Nenko Balkanski, Vassil Stoilov, Alexander Poplilov and other great names in the Bulgarian painting. And from the contemporary ones we can meet the names of Svetlin Roussev, Georgi Bozhilov, Dimitar Ostoich, Dimitar Kirov, Rumen Skorchev, Lyuben Dimanov, Georgi Chapkanov, Petar Chuklev, Vassil Zahariev, Vera Nedkova, Nayden Petkov, Stoyan Sotirov, Atanas Yaranov, Emil Stoychev Dimitar Kazakov-Nero, Genko Genkov, Georgi Chapkanov, Todor Panayotov, Zafir Yonchev, Stoimen Stoilov, Pavel Meteorov, Nikola Kovachev, Mircho Yakubov, Yordan Marinov, Georgi Kurtev, Yordan Kisyov, Angel Stanev, Dean Valkov, Plamen Avramov, Dimitar Nutsulov , Georgi Zhekov, Dimitar Kulev, Jordan Mr. Kolev, Milen Bogdanov, Anton Dimitrov, Stefan Penchev, Dimitar Georgiev, Bedik Bedrosian, Yordan Gospodinov, Ivan Vassilev, Yordanka Chausheva, Krystju Nadarliyski Peter Chaoushev Simeon Govedarov, Ilyu Stanchev, Valentin Petrov, Vesselin Petrov and others.

SITE SIGNIFICANCE

Monument of culture of local importance.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The gallery is open to visitors from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Entrance fees:

Students, retired - 1.00 leva

Adults - 2.00 leva

There is a tour guide in Bulgarian and English. The gallery is hardly accessible for disabled people because there are stairs. There is no parking, but parking is allowed nearby. Photographing is allowed.

Contacts:

Phone: 086 822 039

Email: artgallery_silistra@abv.bg

SITE CLASSIFICATION

Site of Fine Arts and Applied Arts

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zlatyu_Boyadzhiev