site.btaNovember Exhibition of Works by Ivan Gazdov Marks His 80th Anniversary

An exhibition of graphicatures and authorship posters by Prof. Ivan Gazdov will open at Sofia's Academia Gallery on November 5, the team of the National Academy of Art said. He is the author of his own graphic style, graphicature (which was developed in 1987 and has been established since then with more than 30 exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad). In 1978, he staged the first exhibition of authorship posters.

Prof. Nikolay Mladenov will be a guest artist at the event, curated by Ivana Murdzheva. The exhibition will run until November 24.

Critics say that graphicature is a striking break from conventional styles, moving beyond tired pseudo-impressionist and pseudo-expressionist trends. Every line in Gazdov's mature graphicatures creates an intelligent, carefully designed space. Familiar forms appear, but they are presented in a bold, innovative way that rewards viewers with a strong cultural background. The shapes are meticulously crafted - even the smallest change would completely alter the meaning, showing the precision and thought behind each work.

Ivan Gazdov was born in the southeastern town of Yambol in 1945. He graduated in the Poster speciality from the National Academy of Art as a student of Prof. Alexander Poplilov. In 1978, Gazdov took a specialization course at Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. He was Rector of the National Academy of Art in 1999-2003. He has received 20 national and 14 international prizes for visual arts, including a Hidezo Kondo special prize for caricature from the International Competition of The Yomiuri Shimbun of Tokyo in 1986; an Award at Art Directors Club, New York, 1989; a Silver Medal for Achievement in the Twentieth Century from the International Biographical Institute, Cambridge, England, 1992; and a Golden Age State Award from Bulgaria's Culture Ministry in 2015.

He is the author of over 20 albums and books. His works can be found in more than 20 museums, galleries and collections around the world and Bulgaria, including the Museum of Modern Art in Toyama, Japan, Die Neue Sammlung in Munich, and Bibliotheque Forney in Paris.