Nuance Art Gallery in Sofia presented recently a vernissage of the new exhibition of acclaimed Bulgarian artist Boyko Kolev. The exhibition will last until December 11. The works of the Bulgarian hyperrealist were presented by renowned writer Luben Dilov Junior and gallerist Igor Markovski who is very popular amidst Bulgaria's collectors and art fans. Boyko Kolev's paintings bear the spirit of modernism. They represent the perfect illusion of reality. The author also impresses with his painting technique. It is difficult to imagine how his characters were drawn with oil paint over the canvas. The plots of his paintings are based on everyday life. He painted garlic, coffee spoons, jars, pieces of warm bread, red hot peppers, apples and other items from our daily routine. Hyperrealism contributed a lot to art development. It dates back to the second half of the 20th century. Many artists were guided over the centuries by the aspiration to create a perfect visual image that is close to reality. Boyko Kolev is also known for his ability to make copies of popular paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello, Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, Modigliani and other internationally-acclaimed artists.

Here is how Igor Markovski tried to re-paint verbally one of Boyko Kolev's works in an artistic manner:

“I am a big fan of Boyko Kolev's works. His exhibition is named Food and is indeed food for the human spirit. Boyko Kolev painted 8 books placed one above another. His hyperrealism is so strong, that I can easily guess the names of those books - 1984 by George Orwell, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Jack Nicholson, Perfume by Patrick Suskind, Aphorisms and Favorite Sayings by Oscar Wilde, Heartsnatcher by Boris Vian, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, etc. Those books are real food for the human spirit. Boyko Kolev is a genius in his profession.”

Here is what Markovski told Radio Bulgaria about Kolev's artistic style:

“Hyperrealism emerged as an artistic style in 1965 in America when artists started to use techniques to make photo-realistic paintings. That movement gained popularity in Europe a bit later. In the beginning, the European artists thought that hyperrealism was a deteriorating phenomenon in painting and that movement did not have too many followers. However, it flourished several years later, because people were looking for different ways to express themselves. In Bulgaria hyperrealism has many followers. I have been watching a dozen of Bulgarian artists closely and I believe that now is the perfect time for hyperrealism to flourish in this country. Boyko Kolev managed to capture the moment perfectly in his paintings, which is the most important element in hyperrealism.” 

Written by: Vida Pironkova

English version: Kostadin Atanasov