Le Papillon Art Gallery is pleased to present the paintings of the artist Vassil Vassilev. He is an author with a recognizable manner and a strong presence in the exhibition calendar of the city of Varna, whose work has become an invariable part of the Le Papillon Art Gallery's permanent exhibition. From the 10th to the 31st of October 2024, for the first time the space of Art Gallery Papillon will be "Inspired" by the thematic solo exhibition presenting the author's latest works.
Characteristic of the artist is the complex plastic expression, and the presence of the divine is felt not only in his emblematic biblical subjects. The artist captures our subconscious ideas about a spiritual world, paints the visions of saints and angels in that past, but seemingly eternal life. Spirituality is the main thread running through his dense painting. The road to spirituality, humility and knowledge is slow and long. Thus, the process of building the images and compositions in his works goes through several months of work. According to Vassil Vassilev, "completing a painting requires a long search and patience until you find a path that becomes a road."
With enviable knowledge in the field of art and unceasing interest in new searches, sometimes a specific image left its mark in the mind of the author may be the "inspired" beginning of a cycle of paintings. Such are the various "springs" in the work of Vassil Vassilev, inspired by the painting of the same name by the French representative of neoclassicism Ingres. For Vassil Vassilev, “the spring” is a metaphor, considered in many directions - the creation and beginning of everything earthly and spiritual, a source of inner wealth and purity. The strongest bearer of the symbolism of the "spring" is the woman, personifying everything carnal and spiritual, innocence and sin, mother, beloved, harlot. The woman occupies a special place in the artist's work - devoid of concreteness and detail, the female image is rather a strong emotional presence. Even in the composition with a naked girl, called by the author "A spring that is at home or poses for an artist", the emphasis is not on the impact of fleeting beauty, but pure adoration of female nature is felt. The theme of "Christ and the Harlot", traced in a cycle of three paintings, although biblical, sounds so relevant even today, when good and evil, right and wrong are categories without clear outlines. Drawing on Christian virtues and postulates of forgiveness and repentance, the pictorial narratives convey a message that everyone has the right to a second chance and the opportunity to rediscover the goodness within themselves.
Along with the recognizable plots, Vasil Vassilev's paintings are also distinguished by a highly characteristic color and its nuances combinations: the bright Neapolitan yellow, broken down to halftones, shines against the background of solid gray shades, giving calmness and balance. The inky density and depth of cobalt blue is almost always combined with a specific sparkling emerald green, complementing each other in an unusual way and creating intense vibrations. With great mastery and ease, the artist handles the light, directed, sought and created - a sparkling candle in the hand; an almost flickering and pulsating halo around the head of a saint, indicating connection with the divine; a light in the sky like a divine sign.
The painting of Vasil Vassilev does not fit into norms. The fact that he is among the founders of the "Vulkan" Free Art Zone from the beginning of the 80s in Varna is particularly telling. Together with Vanko Urumov, Stoyan Tsanev, Milko Bozhkov, Alexander Kaprichev, Stoimen Stoilov and other artists who have become iconic for contemporary art, they created the art colony, which is a metaphor for dogma-free art and cultural identity in Bulgaria.
Welcome to the opening of the exhibition "Inspired" on 10.10.2024 on 19.09.2024 /Thursday/ at 18:00 in the exhibition hall of Art Gallery Le Papillon to meet the author and your inspiration!
