THE STUDENTS. THE EXQUISITE IN TEXTILE ART
2021.11.30
9 – 23 December 2021
Vernissage: 9 December 2021 (Thursday), 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Venue: National Palace of Culture Art Gallery, Sofia
The Department of Textiles – Art and Design will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the National Academy of Art by presenting the exhibition "THE STUDENTS. THE EXQUISITE IN TEXTILE ART" at the National Palace of Culture Art Gallery, Sofia.
Year 2020 marked 60 years since the establishment of the Departmentof Textiles – Art and Design in its modern form and 122 years (1898 – 2020) since teaching of textiles at schools for design and textile techniques began in 1898 – soon after the opening of the National Academy of Art as State School of Drawing in 1896.The exhibition is one of the events related to the celebration of the Department's anniversary.
The goals of "THE STUDENTS. THE EXQUISITE IN TEXTILE ART" are to present the position, demands and achievements of both students and teaching staff at the Department over the last ten years.The exposition includes woven artworks with different storylines and stylistic characteristics, which sustain the good traditions of the Bulgarian textile school. Although some of the traditions have been retained, the artworks are innovative insofar as they can be formally defined as drawing, painting and sculpture, created by use of textile materials and techniques; works that are characteristic for the process textile practices have undergone to be defined as textile art, and contemporary conceptual works. In addition to overcoming the decorative, the entering onto the territory of fine art is realised through spatial three-dimensional solutions.
The role of the material is so determinant in the process. Finding a material, which is not a means of depiction only, but in itself a way to influence and suggest, to correspond to the concept of the artwork, is a trend that retains its significance to this day. Also, included are functional objects, traditionally defined as design, which however, carry messages, and those messages are always associated with fine art; works that use modern media: video documentation of a performance, video art, installation, object, whose aspects are far from the decorative and the applied. As a counterpoint, we also show the initial attempts of several first-year students for creative expression by use of different materials and tools.
This panorama of various creative paths which our students follow in their work is indicative of the vast opportunities ensured by the Department of Textile – Art and Design.
Prof. Adelina Popnedeleva, PhD
Gallery
