EMIL POPOV | КОНФЕРАНС ...75–026
Sculpture exhibition on the occasion of awarding Prof. Emil Popov with the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the National Academy of Art
15–25 April 2026
Exhibition opening: 15 April (Wednesday), 6:00 pm, Academia Gallery
1 Shipka Street, Sofia
Emil Popov is a creator of images and stories, a storyteller of myths, who immortalises the past and remembering the present. The artist's impressive artistic production, as well as his long-standing teaching activity at the National Academy of Art, make him one of the brightest representatives of contemporary Bulgarian sculpture, who has prepared generations of Bulgarian artists.
The exhibition at Academia Gallery, under the motto КОНФЕРАНС ...75–026, presents significant works by Emil Popov, created over the past five decades. The exhibition illustrates the artist's quest in the field of sculpture and the themes typical of his artworks: women, nature, mythology and portraits of famous people, created in brass, iron, aluminum, ceramics and plaster, as well as metal paintinglike reliefs. Also presented are collages, picturesquely over-painted prints on canvas and vinyl of the artist's works, created in a park environment, during international sculpture symposia, owned by private collectors, and assignments in open spaces in Bulgaria, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and India. For a complete immersion in the atmosphere of creation, the exhibition also includes captured moments in the sculptor's creative process in his studio,.
On 15 April 2026, at 6:00 pm, the official ceremony of awarding Prof. Emil Popov with the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the National Academy of Art will be held in Academia Gallery of the National Academy of Art for his exceptional merits in the development and presentation of contemporary Bulgarian visual and plastic art.
Prof. Emil Popov was born on 18 July 1951 in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. In 1975, he graduated with a degree in Sculpture from the National Academy of Art in the class of Prof. Lyuben Dimitrov. Prof. Popov has been a long-time lecturer at the Academy, and since 2002 he has held the academic position of Professor of Sculpture (currently retired). He has been a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists (UBA) since 1979. His creative base is situated in the village of Dren, Pernik Region.
Works by prof. Emil Popov are property of the National Gallery, Sofia City Art Gallery, regional galleries throughout Bulgaria, and prestigious foreign institutions: the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), the National Museums in Warsaw and Prague, Dante Museum (Ravenna) and Most Museum (Norway). His works are part of the world-famous private collections of Peter Ludwig (Germany), Hugo Wooten (Belgium) and Chapko Jaeger (Netherlands), as well as of Svetlin Russev and Angel Simeonov (Sozopol Collection and Park) in Bulgaria. His sculptures are also exhibited in the park of the Hissar Hotel in Bulgaria.