Samokov Artist Georgi Georgiev Opens Borovets Exhibition alongside International Jazz Festival

Kaloyan Kirilov

In the photo (Left to right): Mayor of Samokov Municipality Angel Djorgov, curator and art critic Aksiniya Dzhurova, Festival Director Tatyana Ilieva, and artist Georgi Georgiev at the opening of Georgiev’s exhibition, Rila Hotel, Borovets, August 1, 2025 (BTA Photo/Ivan Laskin)

Borovets, Western Bulgaria,

01.08.2025 22:13

(BTA)

Samokov-based artist Georgi Georgiev presented an exhibition at the Rila Hotel in the Borovets resort, as part of the accompanying programme of the International Jazz Festival Dr Emil Iliev on Friday.

The display features ten watercolour paintings and eight sculptures, with works specially selected to reflect the nature surrounding Samokov.

The exhibition contains ten watercolours and eight sculptures, Georgiev told BTA. According to him, the exhibition was made possible thanks to the festival director, Tatyana Ilieva. Georgiev noted that the exhibition and jazz festival complement each other. He added that the works were created in the last several years and were chosen specifically to showcase the landscape of Samokov.

“I suppose everyone perceives colour in their own way. There are brighter and more subdued pieces,” he said. Georgiev also remarked that he is often asked why he does not paint the sea and replied that, in order to do so, he would need to have lived by it. He draws the mountain because he lives in Samokov, at the foot of the Rila Mountain.

Curator and art critic Aksiniya Dzhurova said that Georgiev belongs to the youngest generation of local artists, distinct from the old Revival-era tradition. “This exhibition in particular shows the artist’s work in two directions – one is painting, with beautiful watercolours inspired mainly by the natural state of things, rather than concrete landscapes,” Dzhurova said.

She explained that typical mountain or urban landscapes are absent from Georgiev’s work. In sculpture, Georgiev is one of the few artists creating in this field in Samokov, as there is no such local tradition. According to her, the artist breathes life into old objects and transforms them into artefacts. Dzhurova said that he is among the Samokov artists who have managed to break away from the conventions of local tradition.

Festival Director Tatyana Ilieva noted that the festival has an accompanying programme every year and thanked Georgiev for accepting the invitation to be part of it.

Mayor of Samokov Municipality Angel Djorgov said that many of the artworks have already been sold and praised their quality. At the exhibition’s opening, Djorgov thanked Ilieva, Dzhurova, Georgiev, as well as the director generals of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) – Kiril Valchev and Milen Mitev – for covering all events related to the festival.

The exhibition will be open until August 6, coinciding with the end of the International Jazz Festival Dr Emil Iliev. Among the official guests were BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, BNR Director General Milen Mitev, MP Valentin Milushev, cultural figures, and others.

Georgiev was born in Sofia in 1968. He graduated from the Art High School in Sofia in 1987, organizers from the International Jazz Festival Dr Emil Iliev said.

He has held eight solo exhibitions, most recently at the City Art Gallery in Blagoevgrad in 2024 and has participated in seven group exhibitions. He took part in the sixth Balkan Painting Quadriennial The Myths and Legends of My People 2024 in Stara Zagora. Georgiev works in fine arts, graphic arts, painting, and small sculpture. He is one of the organizers of the annual plein air in Samokov, The Threads of Time, with the National Endowment Fund 13 Centuries Bulgaria and Samokov Municipality. He owns the Retro Art Gallery in Samokov and currently lives and works in the town.

/KT/