(…) It is what you have created that your life is all about.

Dechko Uzunov

 In 2024, we mark the 125^th anniversary of the birth of the great Bulgarian artist and intellectual Dechko Uzunov (1899–1986). There is hardly anybody who is not familiar with his name or his work, which has long been exhibited in museums and is now considered a classic. Having gone through life with the same dynamism he created his art, Uzunov was always of interest to art critics, journalists, artists and the public. A renowned portrait painter, who also created masterful monumental artworks and received high praise for his compositions, landscapes, still lifes and nude body paintings, a sought-after illustrator and scenographer, Dechko Uzunov was also the interesting professor, the pleasant interlocutor, the authoritative and knowledgeable colleague. For more than six decades, the artist would move towards his art. From symbolism, Art Nouveau, expressionism and neo-classicism through the academized formula of socialist realism to spatial clarity, the synthesization of monumental language and abstract expression.

In an attempt to follow the development of Dechko Uzunov as an artist and unique creator of Bulgarian art, the Sofia City Art Gallery has put up an exhibition presenting his paintings by decade, as well as artworks showcasing the artist’s masterful use of watercolor techniques. The exhibition features more than 90 artworks belonging to the genres of portrait, still life and landscape painting, and composition (figure and abstract). The unique spirit of each decade is highlighted by select quotes by art critics. Last but not least, the story told by the artworks is complemented by a detailed timeline of the artist’s life and plenty of photographs. The exhibition is also accompanied by several interviews with individuals who were in direct contact with Dechko Uzunov allowing viewers a glimpse of the great artist’s personality. Courtesy of the Bulgarian National Television, art lovers will also be able to see Damyan Petrov’s documentary Uncle Dechko (2000). The exhibition is accompanied by an album. To mark the anniversary, the Ministry of Transport and Communications will issue a commemorative postage stamp block.

The exhibition is the third event since the beginning of the year to commemorate the anniversary of the artist’s birth, the other two being the exhibition The Great Outlying. To Dechko Uzunov’s 1969 Exhibition and the Archaeology of a Scandal presented at the Kazanlak City Art Gallery (February – May 2024) and Dechko Uzunov. Secular Monumental Art put up at the Dechko Uzunov Gallery, a branch of the Sofia City Art Gallery (February – June 2024).

The exhibition is a parnership project of the Sofia City Art Gallery, the Kazanlak City Art Gallery and the Archives State Agency completed in cooperation with Bulgarian National Television. Support for the exhibition is provided by the Culture Programme of the Capital City Municipal Authority, Aurubis Bulgaria AG, private individuals and the Bulgarian News Agency as a media partner.

Featured in the exhibition are artworks and archive material belonging to the permanent collections of:

National Gallery of Art, Sofia; Sofia City Art Gallery; Dechko Uzunov Gallery, a branch of the Sofia City Art Gallery; Kazanlak City Art Gallery; Archives State Agency;

Petko Zadgorski Burgas City Art Gallery; Plovdiv City Art Gallery; Panagyuriste History Museum; Museum collection of the National Academy of Arts; National Museum in Belgrade; Dimitar Dobrovich Sliven City Art Gallery; Dobrich City Art Gallery; Georges Papazoff Yambol City Art Gallery; Iliya Beshkov Pleven City Art Gallery; Svetlin Rusev Donation Collection Art Gallery, Pleven; Nikola Marinov Targoviste City Art Gallery; Prof. Vasil Zahariev Samokov City Art Gallery; Prof. Iliya Petrov Razgrad City Art Gallery; Prof. Teofan Sokerov Lovech City Art Gallery; Ruse City Art Gallery; Stanislav Dospevski Pazardzhik City Art Gallery; Stanka Dimitrova Kardzhali City Art Gallery; Stara Zagora City Art Gallery; Hristo Tsokev Gabrovo City Art Gallery; private collectors.