“A strong character, a strong spirit, and immense talent devoted entirely to art” – this is how the art historian Assoc. Prof. Dr Ruzha Marinska described, over a decade ago, the first truly striking presence of a woman artist in the history of Bulgarian art. Her name is not unfamiliar to us, and yet, as with so many others, her work remains little known to the public and has yet to find its researchers. This, despite the fact that she belonged to a prominent family whose legacy and achievements are essential to any full and honest account of Bulgaria’s development.
Her artistic legacy not only “with its painterly culture, sensitivity and technique, had a significant impact on the development of Bulgarian painting,” but – more importantly – through its quality, “gives us a face” with which we may present ourselves to both Europe and the world.
Elena Karamihaylova’s name has appeared in numerous scholarly and critical texts by figures such as Sirak Skitnik, Nikola Mavrodinov, Assen Vassilev, Irina Mihalcheva, Kiril Krastev, Dora Kamenova, Bisera Yosifova, Mira Dimitrova-Taseva, Irina Genova, Milena Georgieva and Anelia Nikolaeva. Yet this has proven insufficient – her life and creative path raise many questions still unanswered. Among them is even the year of her birth, which is generally cited as 1875, though at least two documents point instead to 1877. Add to this the lack of clarity regarding her years of training in Vienna and Munich, which various authors place between 1895 and 1910, and the scattered nature of her body of work, some of which may be irretrievably lost, and the task of reconstructing the story of her life and legacy becomes a complex and demanding undertaking. The current exhibition presents the outcome of ongoing efforts to do just that.
…AND I PAINTED ON ALONE is a journey in exhibition form, marking the 150th anniversary of Elena Karamihaylova’s birth. It introduces a series of newly uncovered facts that allow us to propose a possible cohesive structure of her body of work. This is the first exhibition of its kind, featuring more than 60 works by the artist from public and private collections – the most comprehensive visual narrative of her work to date. More than that, the exhibition may be seen both as an attempt to trace the full arc of her artistic career—its focal points, themes, stylistic developments—and as an invitation to understand the artist herself: her character, anxieties, passions, disappointments, fears, and a quiet solitude that seems to permeate her entire being, remaining with her until the end of her life. Sadly, this solitude followed her beyond death, as the story of all she devoted herself to would remain untold.
The exhibition is a joint initiative of the teams at Art Gallery Kazanlak and the Elena Karamihaylova Art Gallery in Shumen.
The project is realised with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and in cooperation with: The National Gallery, Dimitar Dobrovich Art Gallery – Sliven, Stanka Dimitrova Art Gallery – Kardzhali, Sofia City Art Gallery, City Art Gallery – Plovdiv, Boris Georgiev City Art Gallery – Varna, Iliya Beshkov Art Gallery – Pleven, Stanislav Dospevski Art Gallery – Pazardzhik, Ruse Art Gallery, Atanas Sharenkov Art Gallery – Haskovo, Union of Bulgarian Artists.
The exhibition also includes works from the private collections of Ivan Burnev – Bubi, ENAKOR Collection and DJURKOVI Gallery.
The team of Kazanlak Art Gallery would like to express sincere gratitude for the exceptional professionalism and collegiality of: Deyan Eftimov, Yaroslava Bubnova, Adelina Fileva, Tatyana Foreva, Doroteya Pavlova, Krasimir Linkov, Margarita Peneva, Tsveta Evlogieva-Katsarova, Eslitsa Popova, Daniela Kodzhamanova, Leon Babachev, Lyuben Genov, Valentin Gospodinov. We also thank Lyuben Domozetski, Stanislava Nikolova, Neda Zhivkova, Milena Kitipova, Adrian Avramov, Krasimira Kirilova, Semra Idriz, Lyudmila Ilieva and Yulia Karadachka for their contribution. Special thanks to Julia Varbanova, Anna Dzhurkova, and Ivan Burnev – Bubi, whose unwavering support was vital to the realisation of this exhibition. We extend our thanks to the teams of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library, the Stilian Chilingirov Regional Library in Shumen, the State Archives Agency, and the State Archive – Shumen, for their assistance with our research.
