Lili Vladimirova tells the stories of saints – from the time when they had not yet turned into immortal righteous people. That is why her icons are saturated with emotions only men can feel.

Twenty five icons painted under the traditional style of the old Orthodox icon painters have been causing admiration at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia palace in Venice.

The Bulgarian art is presented by Lili Vladimirova’s religious paintings and Krum Damyanov’s modern sculptures. They are part of an unusual exhibition- a mixture of the sublime and the earthly.

The exhibits of the 15^th century displayed at this palace look very impressive. The illumination and the arrangement of the exhibits fascinate thousands of visitors. People are impressed not only by the Orthodox art, but also by the idea to keep our traditions. That is why the exhibition was named Keepers.

They are keepers of tradition, faith and love which overcome boundaries through art. The icon of the Mother of God (the Theotokos) surrounded by saints in a scene inspired by supreme providence found itself in Italy. Soon after, two influential people Pino Bisazza, producer of the famous Orsoni mosaics and member of Guggenheim foundation and Professor Giuliano Pisani, world-famous art critic who studies Giotto’s art arrived at the parlor of the Bulgarian female artist. Italy Must See You, both men exclaimed.

Lili Vladimirova started to paint the faces of the saints when she was asked by the National Academy of Art to work on the icons from the central corpus of Saint George the Victor church. Icon painting has been part of her life for twenty years now. Lili is filled with happiness and love when she takes the brush in her hand. However, the biggest excitement comes when the saint “is able to see again”- It takes a lot of time to the Bulgarian female artist to paint the saint’s eyes in the most special moment.

Perhaps, this rush of feelings comes from the contact with my bright images and the fact that I always go deep in their life time. I read the biographies of many saints. Their life on earth impresses me a lot. However, I do not follow certain rules when I choose my next character. The desire comes somewhere deep inside. I think about it for a very long time and explore many figures.

Lili Vladimirova does not feel limited by the strict cannon of icon painting and manages to express what she is striving. However, she cannot understand how atheists dare paining the faces of saints.

I use the old technology of the Bulgarian icon painters and work with 24 karat gold which is placed in a special way. I believe that the divine image deserves the most beautiful and the purest. Besides, the glitter of gold is not accidental- it is used since time immemorial to instill in people the divine light. Gold is used mainly in halos and backgrounds to make the image bright.

Lili Vladimirova owns Nuance Art Gallery. Pieces by internationally acclaimed artists such as Yaroslav Veshin, Nikolay Rainov, Emil Stoychev and Lyuben Zidarov, as well as paintings of some very young artists are on display at this art gallery. Currently, Lili Vladimirova is busy painting another icon and is preparing for the special moment when her hand will open the eyes of Saint Demetrius with the help of God.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov