Personal exhibition of Bulgarian Artist Emil Stojchev

A Solo Exhibition by the well-known Bulgarian artist Emil Stoichev was held from 13th – 27th November 2008, in the Art Gallery of the Museum Centre. It was organised by the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan and held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Georgi Pirvanov.

Emil Stoichev was born in Sofia, but he has lived in France since 1991 – in fact he divides his time between Paris and Sofia. He is a laureate of many competitions and awards: the Grand Prix of the Polish Biennale, the ‘Master Vladimir Dimitrov’ Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of the International Jury of the ‘Golden Aesop’ and many others. Stoichev was awarded the Bulgarian Order ‘Stara Planina’, 1st Degree.

He has held solo exhibitions in more than 15 countries:
Bulgaria 1973, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1999, 2004, 2008
Sofia 1965, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1985, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2004
Berlin 1972, 1973
Cyprus 1986
Japan 1995, 1996
Luxemburg 1990, 1999
Madrid 1979
Paris 1984, 1992, 19993, 19994, 1997
Prague 1981
Saint Tropez 1992
Switzerland 1979vWarsaw 1976
Vienna 1990
USA 1988

His works are held in museums in France, Germany, Holland, the USA and other countries, and also in the most important collections of modern art.

He uses elements of very different directions in his work, creating his own inimitable style. His work also has room for irony. Many of his works are dedicated to the totalitarian reality of Bulgaria during the Soviet period. His first exhibition, held at the outset of the 1960s, was closed down by the government, but nearly all of the works in the exhibition were bought by the well-known Bulgarian professor, Bogomil Rainov.

The main feature of his works is, of course, their great artistic value: Emil Stoichev is a wonderful colourist and an artist with a shining individuality. In the early 1970s a monograph was published by Professor Axinia Jurova, who first noticed the unique aesthetic and non-traditional thread in Emil Stoichev against the then background of the Bulgarian painting canon. Critics later began to detect a line to Stoichev through Goya and Picasso. Stoichev himself characterises his style as ‘Fantastic Realism’.

In the early 1990s, Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris, invited Stoichev and his exhibition to the ‘Bagatelle’ Palace. Only the classics of painting are given exhibitions in this palace, most often when the artists are no longer with us. The first exception to this tradition was Marc Chagall and the second was Stoichev. The exhibition was opened personally by Jacques Chirac. Emil Stoichev is the only Bulgarian artist and representative of Eastern Europe in the catalogue of the ‘Druo’ auction house. He is the only Bulgarian artist to participate in the exhibition of artists of the world dedicated to the millennium. He is currently the ‘best-selling’ artist in the world.

“Artists and art in general are the most valuable diamonds in the throne of government. Government without spirituality – July. But who can speak about the innermost feelings of all nationalities? – Only artists”, says Emil Stoichev.