Exhibition

21 March - 16 April 2024

   Exhibition

Valery Chakalov and Stefan Bozhkov

21 March – 16 April 2024

 

Rakursi Gallery is pleased to present the latest works of Valery Chakalov and Stefan Bozhkov. The exhibition is a free communication between the works of the two authors, linked both by similarities in their pursuits and by personal friendship.

Valery Chakalov creates a personal visual environment by depicting states – a symbiosis of emotions, thoughts and spirit. The author dives deep into his essence, explores his attitudes and attempts to search for personal freedom. His abstract-geometric paintings, in which he uses various materials and techniques, explore the eternal questions of existence and transformation.

Stefan Bozhkov presents mixed media drawings on canvas. The focus of his attention is the woman. The paintings show close-ups of women’s bodies, contain images and signs imbued with symbolism. The canvases have finely sculpted shapes set against a black background, which is a hallmark of the artist’s work. They are distinguished by a delicate, contrasting colors, with a hint of subtle eroticism and tenderness.

Biographies of the artists:

Valery Chakalov was born in 1957 in Devnya. He lives and works in Varna.
1984 – graduated from the National Academy of Arts, specialty “Graphics”.
He has more than 30 solo exhibitions, among them:

Bulgarian Cultural Institute Berlin 2022; TRUTTMANN & REICHENBACH, Switzerland; BAUHAUS Dessau, Germany; “Memory Transformation” together with Stefan Bozhkov, Ozone Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia and U-PARK Gallery, Plovdiv; “Meditation Zone” together with Stefan Bozhkov, Rakursi Gallery, Sofia; REG’ARTS CROISES AU PAYS DE THANN project, Mediatheque Gallery, Thann, France; HOF GALLERY, Horb am Neckar, Germany; ANEMARI GINTZEL Gallery, Neuburg, Germany; Houston, USA; SUST Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland; VILLE DE LUON, Center Berthelot, Lyon, France; HAUS DER ARHITEKTUR, Rostock, Germany, etc.

He has over 250 participations in national and international exhibitions, graphic biennials and art projects: Visual Arts Festival “August in Art” GHG Varna 2023; “2nd International Perre Art Workshop” Adıyaman, Turkey 2022; “Exhibition 7”, Galateca Gallery Bucharest, Romania 2022; Art Forum “Art as Counteraction” Varna 2022; “East to East” Ningbo Beilun, China 2021; “Crossing the River” Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Budapest, Hungary 2021; Exhibition “Contemporary Bulgarian Artists” in Bucharest 2019; “Made By Artist 2016” I. International Contemporary Art Salon, Pinelo Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece; “Verzamelingen van Vrienden”, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands; “Constantin Brancus 2016”, Muzeul de istorie Nationala si arheologie Constanta, Constanta, Romania; Project “Jazz format”, House of Culture “Boris Hristov”, Plovdiv; 1st International Painting Symposium Yalova – City Museum, Yalova, Turkey; “Food art Drugs” together with Stefan Bozhkov, Rakursi gallery, Sofia; Solitary Pursuits – The EFA Center for Contemporary Art – New York; “Es lautet” project, Art Center Pleven – Hall “Hristo Boyadzhiev”, Pleven; International graphic project Global Print – Duoro, Portugal; Biennale of Contemporary Art – Beijing, China; Bulgarian graphics DEYTON/NRIGHT GALLERY – Santa Fe, New Mexico, etc.

He is the winner of national and international awards, some of which are: Prize for graphics from “Spring Salon” – Lyon, France; Diploma in small format graphics – Toronto, Canada; Award for contribution to culture and art – “Varna”, Bulgaria; Painting award of the Union of Bulgarian Artists; Award for graphics from the “5th International Triennial of Graphics” – Sofia; Badge of honor of the town hall of the city of Rostock for a solo exhibition in the gallery HAUS DER ARHITEKTUR, Germany; Golden Pegasus Grand Prize – “South Spring” – Bulgaria; Prize for painting “A L`internationalite” from “118 Spring Salon” – Lyon, France; Winner of the “Shoumen Award” group award for art and culture; Old Presto Diploma for contribution to Bulgarian culture, pedagogical and creative activity in fine arts, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, etc.

 

Stefan Bozhkov was born in 1961 in Panagyurishte, Bulgaria. He graduated from the Art High School in Kazanlak, Bulgaria, majoring in Fine Arts. Artist, actor, bohemian, connoisseur of good wine and women, nature, cinema, literature, music, partial color blindness to the color green, does not drive. Former porter, artist of archeological excavations, assistant artist at Bulgarian National Television, book illustrator, graphic and interior designer, set designer. He works and experiments in various fields of visual arts – painting, graphics, sculpture, spatial installations. Participation in group exhibitions and solo ones, symposia and creative stays – Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Serbia, Spain, Russia, Germany and almost all countries in Europe, as well as in the USA, Japan, Egypt.

Workshop and exhibitions in Women’s Prison, Sliven. Winner of the Sofia Award – for high achievements in the visual arts, Golden Pen Award from the International Biennial of Books and Illustration, Belgrade, Serbia, awards from graphic biennials and triennials in Bulgaria, Serbia, Belarus and others. Creator, curator and participant in the teams of Cultural Salons – Grand Hotel Pomorie, Art Potok – Tsarevo, Port Prim Art Fest – Burgas, various projects in Bulgaria and abroad. Freelance artist, lives and works in Sofia, Bulgaria.