The 90th anniversary since the birth of one of the most talented Bulgarian artists - Georgi Baev, has become the occasion for an exhibition of his works in the Art Gallery of the National Palace of Culture. The exhibition will continue until the end of January. Born in Burgas, Baev was captivated by the power and beauty of the sea and for decades he was expressing his feelings towards it in his works. His paintings fascinate with their brightness and color depth. The works in the exhibition are from the collection of the National Art Gallery. They were created in a period starting in the second half of the 50s that continued to the mid-80s of the last century.

"There are various ideas and topics in the works of Georgi Baev during the different periods of his development,” says in an interview for Radio Bulgaria art critic Susanna Karamfilova. “In the 50s, in his early period he used to draw the port of Burgas, fishermen, and created a series of paintings of rails, which are very characteristic of his art in the 60s. After that he continued to focus on the sea but started including industrial landscapes - piers, harbors, boats and nets. After a tragic accident in 1983, when his studio burned in a fire that destroyed more than 250 of his works, his style became more dramatic. He worked on topics such as 'Refugees,' 'The most beautiful drowning man,' etc. Some of them are collages of his burnt paintings, which created a strong dramatic effect.”

One of the major topics in the work of Georgi Baev can be seen in paintings from the “Memory” series. This is a series of minimalistic paintings. ”What is interesting is that the early works of the artist are much different than his later works,” Suzanna Karamfilova says.

Georgi Baev had a number of solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad, while his paintings have been part of joint exhibitions in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. He won a number of awards, including the prestigious Gottfried von Herder Award of the University of Vienna.

"Georgi Baev has long earned his place in the cultural history of Bulgaria as a characteristic artist with his own specific style,” Susanna Karamfilova. “He's among the artists who in the beginning of the 60s had an active role in shaping contemporary Bulgarian art of the next decades. Baev has great contribution to contemporary art along with authors like Genko Genkov, Svetlin Rusev, Atanas Yaranov, Georgi Bozhilov and many others who were active in the 60s and later. Some of them continue to work these days.”

English: Alexander Markov