site.btaNational Art Gallery Hosts Contemporary Art Donated by Gaudenz B. Ruf

The Palace, the National Art Gallery venue in Sofia, unveiled on Thursday The Art of Collecting Time, a contemporary art exhibition built around a donation by Gaudenz B. Ruf. The exhibition comprised of works by 12 Bulgarian artists and nine artists from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia will be open until October 5.

Ivan Milev, Deputy Director of the National Gallery, said that Ruf is making an important gesture towards Bulgaria and contemporary art in the Balkans. He added: "As he [Ruf] says, the important thing is that art can be seen. Here, today, the moment has come to see the collection he donated to us."

Maria Vassileva, who represented Ruf at the event, thanked the National Gallery for accepting the donation. "I think this is the right place not only for the donation to be taken care of from now on but also for Mr Ruf's name to be carried through time and through the years, because he has long become an institution," she said.

The benefactor has a long-standing relationship with the Bulgarian art scene as Ambassador of Switzerland to the country and founder of the Gaudenz B. Ruf Award that was granted annually between 2007 and 2011.