Magda Abazova (1923-2011) - ART GALLERY LE PAPILLON


ART GALLERY LE PAPILLON

presents

Magda Abazova (1923-2011)

painting exhibition

from January 16 to March 12, 2025

Opening
Thursday 16.01.2025 from 19:00
Varna, 12 Dragoman Str.

 

"Abstraction for me gives freedom. Painting for me is not a story, but an expression. It does not tell incidents, events, plots. It expresses states, moods, experiences. In one case, its object is the world outside us, and in the other - the world within us. I do not oppose the two approaches, I only distinguish them." - Magda Abazova

 

Le Papillon Art Gallery is pleased to launch the new cycle of its exhibition calendar with an exposition of some of Magda Abazova's work in the intimate space of Le Petit Papillon Art Gallery from January 16 to March 12, 2025. A collection of fifteen paintings by the emblematic artist, called the "aristocrat of Bulgarian painting" and whose work goes beyond the norms of her time, has been selected. Magda Abazova has been named more than once to be at the heart of neomodernism in Bulgarian art. Since the late 1980s, she has been the only one of her generation to be invited to the so-called avant-garde exhibitions in Bulgaria. Abazova bridges the gap between European modernism and new searches in Bulgarian art, and somehow unconsciously and without any ambitions, she joins the latest trends, perhaps because she is looking for the unknown.

The event is significant for the gallery not only because the work of an avant-garde and provocative artist is being rediscovered, but also because it reflects our desire to introduce the wider public to high-quality art and to preserve the memory of artists who leave a lasting mark over time. In terms of genre, the artist's work extends from portraiture, interior and landscape to metaphor, abstraction and installation. Abazova relies on a hidden meaning of the subject, both in the "most ordinary" still lifes and in her boldest abstractions. She hints at analogies with reality, forms and expressions that she reaches in the process of building a painting. "What is abstraction?", shares Abazova, "Even many theorists say that there is no such thing. Everything starts from concrete things, and then other images are obtained that are visible only to the author himself or are in his head. My paintings are not abstract. I cannot give a specific formula. These are the things I see in my own way. Whoever likes them, likes them; whoever doesn't accept them, doesn't accept them. I can't take others into account. For me, things are very difficult to achieve. There are people for whom painting is a song and a joy. But people are different. And for me, painting has been a song and a joy many times, because the paintings were created all at once, but that doesn't always happen." The current selection at Papillon Art Gallery mainly reveals the face of the avant-garde Abazova with the 15 paintings painted in the period from 1976 to 2006 - abstract compositions, landscapes and the collage "Village". The included lyrical "Portrait of a Girl", executed on wood, speaks of her talent for recreating the state and character of the human.

Truly devoted to art for the sake of art itself, Magda Abazova avoided publicity and held few solo exhibitions during her lifetime. They say that she was Dechko Uzunov's favorite student, but the artist herself does not like to talk about it. In Varna, she had an exhibition together with Ivan Kirkov in 1990, and in 2001 - a solo one. She was among the participants of the plein air "Sound and Color" and a guest at the visual arts festival "August in Art". She remains not particularly well-known among the general public, but receives high recognition and respect among her contemporaries, colleagues and like-minded people, including Ivan Kirkov, Lyuben Zidarov, Naiden Petkov. Magda Abazova's painting is frank, strong, it is not influenced by fashion, does not follow trends, cannot be limited in time, but only rediscovered in its relevance and diversity. Magda Abazova's work continues to arouse interest and evoke different emotions in the viewer today. Magda Abazova also has typical social compositions, in which one can read not only the views of her contemporaries from different periods, but also her ability to sift out the significant and evaluate it.

Magda Abazova is an artist with an incredible character. With her own voice regardless of time, styles and conjunctural excesses. Standing up for her vision of things, which is why she is often disliked or rejected. Because of her refined taste and position, many of her colleagues admire her, but sometimes they are afraid of her powerful talent. Her words speak of her genuine sincerity, modesty: "I never take myself seriously when I start doing something. It is funny to behave with the self-confidence of a person who considers himself gifted. That is why the joy is great when you see that something has happened." From the 1950s to the present, the artist has constantly and tirelessly filled the spaces with her personal work, with images that fascinate, provoke and surprise. Her own style lies in the meaning of the message, not only in the means. Paintings, drawings and experimental compositions less known to the public, which came out of her studio, always become the subject of special attention. She never imposes herself on the public and connoisseurs. Her works rarely occupy central places in general exhibitions, but what she presents often becomes the center of these exhibitions. It is difficult to determine which trends her art belongs to, as well as which generation she is a typical representative of. Her presence is so beautiful, human and sensitive that her works take on multiple characteristics and correlations. She is a classic with the classics and an innovator with the young. Her art is not just a story that reflects the interests and fashion of the time, but also an experience, the creation of ideas, their development and expression - a reflection of the state of the world, which has not been shown before.

In 2023, the National Gallery presented their exhibition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Magda Abazova with the announcement: "Powerful, uncompromising, provocative and diverse in her work, Magda Abazova fills her own space without unnecessary ostentation, high slogans and flashy messages, but with colors, ideas and light. The artist does not follow certain styles, dogmas and prescriptions, distances herself from the trends of her time, but at the same time anticipates them. Innovative, experimental, searching, she is not afraid to try new stylistic directions and motifs, as well as to return to already familiar themes and techniques. Her painterly style is strong, categorical and distinct, but also poetic, romantic and delicate."

Welcome to the vernissage of the exhibition on 16.01.2025 /Thursday/ from 16.00 to 19.00 in the exhibition space of Le Petit Papillon Art Gallery to enjoy the impressive work of Magda Abazova!

The exhibition can be seen from January 16 to March 12, 2025 in the exhibition hall of the Le Petit Papillon Art Gallery in Varna, 12 Dragoman Street, next to the Puppet Theater, and also online on the website artpapillon.com or on fb: Le Papillon Art Gallery.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE

MAGDA ABAZOVA (Magdalina Panchova Abazova) was born on March 28, 1923 in Sofia. In 1948 she graduated from the Academy of Arts with Dechko Uzunov in painting. She is the author of landscapes, portraits, still lifes, illustrations for children's books. Since 1951 she has been a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists. Since 1951 she has participated in General Art Exhibitions, regional exhibitions of women artists, exhibitions in Poland, Syria, Turkey, the Bahamas. Since 1972 she has presented solo exhibitions, both in Bulgaria and abroad. They are met with great interest in Rome, Vienna, Cannes sur Mer, Amsterdam, Ankara, Damascus, Oslo, Lisbon, Seoul, Delhi, Warsaw, Ulan Bator and other cities around the world. 

She received an award for painting from the Union of Bulgarian Artists in 1963. and in 1978, and in 1996 - an award from the Union of Bulgarian Artists for lifetime achievement. She was awarded the Order of Cyril and Methodius - III degree by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 1990 and in 2008 she was awarded the National Prize for Painting "Zachary Zograf". In 2003 she was awarded the prize of the Sofia Municipality "For a bright contribution to the field of culture and the arts", in 2004 with the prize "Slavyana". In 2005 she received an award from the Ministry of Culture for contribution to the development of Bulgarian culture.

Abazova was married to journalist Todor Abazov.

Magda Abazova died on 02.10.2011.

 

Magda Abazova Abstrakten peisaj 2006 30x24 pmb w  Magda Abazova Bregove 90x80 pmb w

Magda Abazova Kolko sa krasivi Rodopite 1982 65x50 pmb w  Magda Abazova Portret na momiche 2005 22x23 maslo durvo w

Magda Abazova Slanchogledi 2005 81x65 pmb w  Magda Abazova Vnushenie 48x35 pmb w

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