The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of woman artist Bronka Gyurova. She belonged to the generation of Bulgarian portrait and landscape artists who were most prolific during the 1930’s and the 1940’s. For various reasons she became detached from her home country, yet she is indisputably a part of the history of Bulgarian art.

The exhibition features paintings and drawings belonging to various periods of Bronka Gyurova’s career as an artist, as well as works, such as paintings, drawings and sculptures by fellow artists, namely Alexander Zhendov, Boris Angeloushev, Kiril Tsonev, Stoyan Sotirov, Rada Poptosheva, Mara Tsontcheva, Vera Nedkova, Vera Loukova, Mara Georgieva, Vaska Emanouilova, Bencho Obreshkov, Donka Konstantinova, Stoyan Venev. Each of the artists belonging to that circle had a role to play in the development of Bulgarian art. They all shared a desire for innovation and experimentation in artistic expression, as well as willingness to measure up to the contemporary European art scene.

The choice of works by artists belonging to Bronka Gyurova’s “circle” is based on the artist’s original autobiography and diary, kindly provided by Mrs. Deyana Alsheh, as well as on the curators’ research of the tendencies and trends in Bulgarian art during the 1930’s and the 1940’s.

The works featured in the exhibition belong to the Sofia City Art Gallery, the National Art Gallery, the “Svetlin Rousev” Atelier Collection, private collections, as well as to the family of Bronka Gyurova and Elieser Alsheh in Buenos Aires. A substantial part of the works featured in the exhibition will be on display for the first time in Bulgaria.

The exhibition also features plenty of documentary material, namely photos, letters, catalogues, archive material. Bronka Gyurova’s unpublished manuscripts are exceptionally valuable, as they provide yet another glimpse of the Bulgarian artist’s life and work.

Bronka Gyurova was born on January 1, 1910 in the town of Shoumen. Over the period 1928 – 1932 she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia in Prof. Dimitur Gyudzhenov’s painting class. In 1937 she specialized in “Illustration” with Prof. Minne in Brussels, Belgium. She organized her first solo exhibition in 1943 in Sofia. Over the period 1933 – 1949 she participated in all general exhibitions held in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as in group exhibitions held in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia. She was a member of the “Association of Women Artists” /1932/, the “Association of Independent Artists” /1935 /, the “’Contemporary Art’ Association” /1936/ and the “Association of New Artists” /1938/. In 1952 she settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina, together with her husband, Elieser Alsheh, and her daughter, Deyana. She died on June 5, 1995 in Buenos Aires.