MEET LUBOMIR YANEV
The exhibition commemorates the 60th anniversary of Lubomir Yanev’s birth (1951-2004). It presents various stages and trends in his artistic career through graphics, drawings, illustrations and three-dimensional objects.
Having majored in “Illustration” at the National Academy of Arts, Sofia in 1975, Lubomir Yanev participated in dozens of exhibitions home and abroad. His works are characterized by exquisite use of line, mastery of various graphic techniques, a specific real/fantasy world, represented in his compositions and even in his portraits. He experimented with three-dimensional shapes, using graphics as their basis. The said graphics develop into space, constructing volumes, while etching metal plates turn into casings for a wooden cross, for example, acquiring a new symbolic meaning.
Whether it was Lubomir Yanev’s retreat in the village of Staro Stefanovo, District of Lovech in the last two decades of his life, or the major social commotions that took place during the period of transition, including in the sphere of culture, but the work of this remarkable artist came to be ignored by both the public and Bulgarian art historians.
„You have either accomplished something, or have erased yourself. Fame comes by itself. You may sink into oblivion for two centuries and then be discovered” – the artist said in an interview for the Factor Newspaper in 2001.
The exhibition, which rediscovers Lubomir Yanev’s work to present it to the modern public, features works belonging to the Sofia City Art Gallery, the National Art Gallery, the Lovech City Art Gallery, as well as private collectors. It was made possible with active cooperation from the artist’s son, Boris Yanev, as well as from Kostadin Kostadinov, Eketerina Getova, friends and students of Lubomir Yanev’s in Sofia and Lovech.
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Lubomir Yanev – Meshkov was born on May 21, 1951 in Sofia. In 1975 he graduated from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia with an “Illustration” major. In 1986 he moved to the village of Staro Stefanovo, District of Lovech, where he worked till the end of his life. He died on April 11, 2004. He participated in all-artist exhibitions and international graphic art biennials home and abroad, thematic exhibitions and actions in Sofia and Plovdiv, representative exhibitions presenting Bulgarian art in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. He also had solo exhibitions in the Bulgarian cities of Sofia, Silistra, and Lovech, as well as in Poland and Germany. Awards: Illustration Diploma – Sofia (1978), 3rd place in a graphic arts contest – Sofia (1980), 1st place in a graphic arts contest – All-Artist Exhibition, City of Shoumen (1981), drawing award – Nuremberg, Germany (1985), drawing award – Rijeka, Yugoslavia (1986), etc. Works of his are to be found in the National Art Gallery, Sofia, the Sofia City Art Gallery, other museums, galleries and private collections home and abroad.