In the course of 6 weeks – from 27 July until 10 September – works by Stefan Despodov-Despo from the collection of the Vladimir Dimitrov-the Master Art Gallery in Kyustendil will be on display at the National Art Gallery in Sofia.

The guest exhibition features posters and drawings by acclaimed artist Stefan Despodov-Despo, one of the foremost representatives of his generation of poster artists with international acclaim.

Stefan Despodov (1950-2015) was born in Kyustendil. He graduated applied graphic art at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia with Prof. Alexander Poplilov. He has worked as art editor for different magazines. After 1989 he worked for independent magazines like Glas (Voice), Most (Bridge) almanac, Literaturen Vestnik (Literary newspaper) etc. For many years, he was poster artist for the Ivan Vazov National Theatre and the Aleko Konstantinov Theatre of Satire.

Despodov has taken part in more than 200 exhibitions around the world, he has published five albums of works and has earned around 80 prizes at competitions and exhibitions in this country and abroad.

“The highlight in the exhibition are the posters, but visitors can also see drawings, mixed media, ink, works that may not be all that familiar to the public at large,” says Diana Draganova-Stier, curator at the National Gallery. “This exhibition affords an opportunity to rediscover Stefan Despodov as an artist – as poster artist of the National Theatre, of the Tear and Laughter Theatre, of the Theatre of Satire, of a great many plays staged in other towns across Bulgaria – but also an artist of the grotesque, an artist with a refined sense of humour.”

The National Gallery does not own many works by Stefan Despodov-Despo – only eight, four of which have been included in the current exposition, Diana Draganova-Stier adds.

“The artist’s wife made a grand gesture, she donated 76 theatre posters to the National Gallery from a great many theatres across the country. Some of them have been exhibited, but only as part of the collection of the Kyustendil gallery. A gesture that is truly impressive.”

English version: Milena Daynova