The National Gallery presents its unique collection of Western European textile panels (tapestries) for the first time. The tapestries dating from the 16th to 18th centuries—the golden period of the two most significant schools, the Flemish and the French—were added to the collection in the 1960s through the Bulgarian National Bank, in the depository of the then National Gallery of Decorative and Applied Arts. The exhibition in Hall 19, Kvadrat 500 is the result of several years of iconographic and attributional research of the artworks, along with restoration and conservation procedures.
Tapestries, these handwoven panels, extremely expensive to produce, with their colourful images, were used as both decoration and wall insulation in palaces and castles. In their splendour and as trappings of power and prestige, they adorned private and public spaces and became the exclusive property of the elite. The 16th century was the golden age of Flemish art, and Brussels emerged as the leading centre for tapestry manufacture. Series of frieze-like monumental thematic compositions with scenes from the Old Testament and Christian doctrine, as well as landscapes and allegorical images, were produced. The use of sources from ancient mythology was frequent, as exemplified in the exhibition by the ‘Romans and the Sabines’ set. By the middle of the century, tapestries were to become true woven paintings.
The 17th and 18th centuries saw the rise of the French tradition. During the reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIV, and by virtue of the initiative of the Minister of Finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the Royal Manufactories of Tapestry of Gobelins, Aubusson and Beauvais were founded. At that time, the best representatives of all the arts and crafts were recruited to glorify the absolute monarchy and to fulfil assignments for aristocrats, taking as their models works by artists such as Rubens, Simon Vouët, Charles Lebrun, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, François Boucher and Charles-Joseph Natoire. The themes were inspired by religion, history, and mythology. One example of this is the tapestry titled ‘The Race of Atalanta and Hippomenes’, based on a tale from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’. The fashion of the time shaped entire salon furnishings with armchairs with woven upholstery depicting anthropomorphic animals based on the moralistic fables of Jean de La Fontaine, conveying timeless lessons on human nature and society. The taste for Orientalism was also apparent in the art of weaving, as illustrated here by two of Claude-Joseph Vernet’s tapestries.
The exhibition programme includes lectures, specialist tours and workshops dedicated to the technique of making tapestries, the restoration and conservation of ancient textiles, as well as activities targeted mainly at children and young people. A mobile digitised version of the exhibition is envisaged, to be presented by the State Cultural Institute of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Bulgarian diplomatic missions, to the Bulgarian Cultural Association in Brussels, as well as to the Museum of Textile Industry in Sliven, a branch of the National Polytechnic Museum, and to the history museums in Panagyurishte and Strelcha.
The study and preparation of the tapestries for this exhibition took more than a year in the Conservation and Restoration Laboratory of the National Gallery, through funding from the Ministry of Culture and in partnership with the French Institute in Bulgaria and the National Academy of Arts.
Curator: Yoana Tavitian

The Vera Nedkova House Museum
The programme, ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, continues to present contemporary female artists in the cosy atmosphere of the artist’s apartment, marked by her intellectual and creative presence.
Denitsa Todorova was born in Plovdiv but has lived and worked in Antwerp for many years. Impressed by the museum in the centre of Sofia, she has prepared an exhibition titled ‘Metaphor for Memory’, an emotional return to and reflectiveness on memories and the past. The works offer a nuanced and symbolic exploration of the imaginary space where the sensitivity of women and their fragility and transformation are mirrored.
The project fills the Vera Nedkova House Museum with a fine, delicate energy that blends into the artist’s creative imagery. Her interpretive vision propounds the issue of underrepresented ‘stories’ of women in the history of art.
The focus in the artist’s oeuvre is on the hidden, intangible gestures and the ephemeral presence of subtle metaphorical scars.
Some of the abstract drawings were inspired by the museum itself and specifically created for the exhibition. They are executed on fine paper with layers of graphic powder.
Denitsa Todorova gradually removes part of it, exposing individual details in the completed work.
Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency
Diana Draganova-Stier, exhibition curator

Kvadrat 500
Opening on 19 June (Thursday), from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM With the special participation of NASHTA.VERSIA – an audiovisual means of transport, probing the infinity of perceptions in risky impro acceleration
Having launched in 2020, the long-term project of the National Gallery ‘The Wall’ aims to present contemporary masters of mural painting and graffiti artists. On a specially designated wall in the atrium of Kvadrat 500 (with impressive dimensions of 2.40 x 27 m), the artists create monumental works in harmony with sculptural pieces by Alexander Dyakov, Pavel Koychev, Galin Malakchiev, and others, which are part of the representative museum exhibition.
Ivo Iliev Yeto is well known for a number of emblematic large-scale murals at key locations in Sofia. Through them, he creates stories in which nature, man and symbols interact in surreal situations, carrying multi-layered meaning and interpretation. With a pronounced interest in comics and graffiti since his childhood, Yeto still maintains his preference for magical subjects. His works have been realised far beyond the borders of the country – in Austria, Germany, Greece, France, etc.
In the space opposite the atrium, selection of small-format landscape compositions will also be displayed (June–August 2025), in which reality, magic and dream bring a special sense of timelessness. They are part of a larger series entitled ‘No Snooze Mornings’, in which the artist presents his searches and reflections on the fleeting moment between the end of dreaming and the moment of awakening – when human consciousness experiences a special kind of frustration at the inability to determine what is real and what is not.
Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.
Martin Kostashki, curator of the exhibition

The International Biennale of Glass celebrates its fifth edition, reaffirming its role as a leading showcase for contemporary glass art in Bulgaria and around the world.
Since its launch in 2017, it has increasingly attracted artists and spectators, becoming a forum for the exchange of ideas and cultural encounters.
Under its traditional slogan, ‘Together’, this year at the National Gallery / Kvadrat 500 the biennale presents some 200 works by artists from 50 countries – an impressive selection, uniting established and emerging creators, different generations and a diversity of techniques.
Highlights of the exhibition include works by Václav Cigler (Czech Republic), one of the most influential figures in the development of optical glass and conceptual sculpture; a blown glass artwork by the world-famous Dale Chihuly (USA); a vase with applied elements of mythological symbolism by the Murano master Lucio Bubacco (Italy), and a spatial analytical work by artist and architect Han de Kluijver (The Netherlands).
This edition includes several key collaborations, including the Franco-Bulgarian residency of artists Clara Rivault and Plamen Kondov held at CIRVA (Marseille), the New Bulgarian University and the National Academy of Arts, the visiting exhibition of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, and the participation of finalists from the Glass Cutting World Cup in Světlá nad Sázavou.
The Art Real K.L.M. Association organises the event in collaboration with the National Gallery and with the support of the Tianaderrah Foundation (USA), the New Bulgarian University, the French Institute in Bulgaria, the Italian Cultural Institute in Sofia, the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund, the Czech Centre in Sofia, Chihuly Studio and Charles Parriott, and a number of galleries, institutions and individuals engaged in the development of contemporary art of glass.
Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The exhibition is dedicated to Prof. Valentin Startchev’s 90th anniversary and, albeit retrospective, presents only a portion of his impressive and multilayered output. The carefully selected artworks follow the sequence and progress of his formal and conceptual searches over the years: from small sculptures, through sculptural compositions and monuments at key locations in the urban and cultural topography of Bulgaria and beyond, to the latest works specifically conceived and produced for the Kvadrat 500 galleries. They not only develop those themes that have preoccupied the sculptor, but prove that artistic energy can be vital and explorative, while independent of the changing spirit of the times. His oeuvre is marked by exceptional plastic might, aesthetic insight and uncompromising inner discipline, assigning him a permanent place in the historical context of Bulgarian sculptural and monumental art.
‘Through Time’ is a journey—not only in the chronology of the years gone by, but also in the depths of the authorial artistic consciousness, which never ceases to explore the boundaries of matter, spirit and, above all, form. The exhibition is an invitation to meet an art that bears the marks of different eras, but never loses its voice. It documents part of the rich and multifaceted oeuvre of an emblematic artist, focuses on his luminous presence in our Bulgarian artistic life, and poses the question of the significance of Bulgarian art beyond time and transience.
Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.
Boryana Valchanova, PhD, exhibition curator

The Palace The National Gallery in Sofia is pleased to present Облъчване (Irradiation), a solo exhibition by Anton Vidokle, curated by Martina Yordanova and Vasil Vladimirov.
Installed in the historic Royal Palace, the exhibition brings together six of Vidokle’s films made over the past decade in dialogue with a special installation of twenty-four Himalayan landscapes by Nicholas Roerich, created between the early and mid-20th century.
The exhibition includes Immortality for All! (2012–2017), a trilogy that introduces the central themes of Cosmism through a polyphonic montage of voices and images. Citizens of the Cosmos (2018), filmed in Tokyo, enacts a manifesto by the anarchist-cosmist poet Alexander Svyatogor. Autotrofia (2019), filmed in southern Italy, interlaces a prose poem by artist Vassily Chekrygin with a scientific treatise by Vladimir Vernadsky. Gilgamesh: She Who Saw the Deep (2021), co-directed with Pelin Tan in Kurdish in southeastern Turkey, revisits humanity’s earliest tale of the quest for eternal life.
Scored with fragments of music by John Cale, Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai), Laurie Spiegel, Éliane Radigue, Else Marie Pade, and Vidokle’s own voice and field recordings, the films resonate with hypnotic sonic intensity.
Presented alongside Roerich’s radiant Himalayan landscapes—long revered for their spiritual and healing qualities—the exhibition proposes an encounter between moving image, sound, historic collection, and the museum itself as a site of memory, preservation, and potential resurrection. Installed as a therapeutic array, Roerich’s paintings are conceived as more than images to be viewed: their vibrational color fields are believed to irradiate the body, fostering psychological and physical healing simply through presence and exposure. The dialogue between Roerich’s luminous visions and Vidokle’s cinematic meditations opens a speculative space where earthly and cosmic time converge.

Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
Wind Forest is a collection of kinetic sculptures, inspired by nature. Here, art and environment meet, while movement and light transform the space into a living, breathing organism. It is a harmony between humanity and nature through art that is not merely observed, but experienced.
“The wind is the most elusive element in sculpture. In Wind Forest, it becomes life itself,” says the sculptor of the natural elements.
Todor Todorov is one of Bulgaria’s leading contemporary sculptors – an artist of international renown, whose work combines philosophical depth, engineering precision, and poetic sensitivity. With numerous monumental works installed in public spaces around the world, he explores the boundaries between form, movement, and energy.
As a theoretician, Todorov is the creator and developer of the concept of Elemental Sculpture – a new, distinct trend in contemporary art in which the natural forces of air, water, fire, and earth become active participants in the final result.
They not only inspire but also generate the artistic expression itself – wind sets things in motion, water reflects, fire (light) animates, and earth lends stability and presence. His book Elemental Sculpture: Theory and Practice was published in 2013 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing and in Bulgarian in 2014 by Altera Publishing House. In it, Todorov elaborates on the idea of “sculpture-nature” – a new form of interaction between art and environment, where natural elements are not merely a background, but equal participants in the artwork.
For Todorov, sculpture is a living system – a synthesis of art, science, and nature. His works seek not images, but states of movement, light, and harmony. They radiate a simultaneous sense of life and tranquility, reflecting the rhythm of nature and its eternal transformation.
The project Wind Forest embodies this philosophy in its purest form. Todorov’s wind sculptures transform the exhibition space into a living organism—a place where art and nature coexist in harmony. It is an invitation for the viewer to reconsider the role of art not as an addition, but as a living presence within the shared world between humans and their environment.
Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency
Dr. Nadezhda Dzhakova, Head of SAMCA Branch

The National Gallery (Sofia, Bulgaria) is opening its first exhibition dedicated to the legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, marking the 90th anniversary of the artists’ birth. The museum’s first acquisition of Christo’s iconic work Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) from 1986, along other original collages, will be officially presented to the public. Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95 will be on view from November 4th, 2025, to March 22nd, 2026.
The realization of this monumental project spanned a total of 24 years, during which Christo and Jeanne-Claude completed eight other projects, also featured in the exhibition. These include The Gates, Central Park, New York City (1979–2005); The Umbrellas, Japan–USA (1984–91); The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris (1975–85); Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida (1980–83); Wrapped Walk Ways, Jacob Loose Memorial Park, Kansas City, Missouri (1977–78); Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California (1972–76); Ocean Front, Newport, Rhode Island (1974); The Wall – Wrapped Roman Wall, Via Veneto and Villa Borghese, Rome, Italy (1973–74); and Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado (1970–72).
The archival video materials, photographs, and documents from the wrapping of the Reichstag—an enduring symbol of democracy—provide a unique historical insight into the realization of this remarkable project.
With this exhibition, the National Gallery also commemorates three major anniversaries of the artists’ visionary projects celebrated in 2025: 20 years since The Gates in New York City, 30 years since Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin and 40 years since The Pont Neuf Wrapped in Paris.
These milestones represent not only significant moments in the artistic journey of Christo and Jeanne-Claude but also landmark events that transformed the cultural history of Europe. « Christo and Jeanne-Claude always referred to their projects as a scream for freedom. Coming from communist Bulgaria Christo would not make any concessions at any cost to go back on that freedom. More than in any other project that is relevant in the Wrapped Reichstag», reminds Vladimir Yavachev, nephew and director of projects of the artist couple. « The mission of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation is to promote their vision, it is essential that their legacy finds its place also in Sofia, as it does in the world’s major capitals that are paying tribute to them in this year marking the 90th anniversary of their birth. I thank the National Gallery in Sofia for making this acquisition and exhibition possible, and we hope that it will be the first of many more in Sofia and Bulgaria. »
The exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971–95, curated by Gergana Mihova (National Gallery), is a collaboration between the National Gallery and the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation. The opening of the exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95 will take place on November 4th at 6PM and the Institut français de Bulgarie, Goethe Institut Bulgaria, SOF Connect and BTA / Bulgarian News Agency are partners of the show.
About Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude Marie Denat were born on 13 June, 1935 respectively in Gabrovo (Bulgaria) and Casablanca (Morocco). Christo studied under the Communist regime at the National Academy of Art, Sofia, from 1952 to 1956, when he fled Bulgaria. His escape to the West took him through Prague and Vienna before relocating to Geneva. In 1958 he finally moved to Paris, where he met Jeanne-Claude, who became his wife and his life partner in the creation of large-scale environmental artworks. Jeanne-Claude passed away on 18 November, 2009. Christo died on 31 May, 2020 in New York City, where he lived for 56 years.
From early wrapped objects to monumental outdoor projects, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s artwork transcended the traditional bounds of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Some of their work included Wrapped Coast near Sydney (1968–69), Valley Curtain in Colorado (1970–72), Running Fence in California (1972–76), Surrounded Islands in Miami (1980–83), The Pont Neuf Wrapped in Paris (1975–85), The Umbrellas in Japan and California (1984–91), Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin (1972–95), The Gates in New York’s Central Park (1979–2005), The Floating Piers at Italy’s Lake Iseo (2014–16), The London Mastaba in London (2016–18), and L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped in Paris (1961–2021).

The Palace Curator: Plamena Dimitrova-Racheva
The exhibition showcases the portrait art of Bistra Vinarova–Radeva – one of the most refined and distinguished figures in Bulgarian modern art. The artist stands out as a bearer of subtle psychological insight and emotional depth that transcend the surface of the image.
In her early work, Bistra Vinarova assimilates the expressive power of form, influenced by German Expressionism and Cubism, which she mastered during her studies in Dresden and Munich. In her pieces from this period, the human figure is constructed through geometric volumes, vivid color contrasts, and psychological tension. Over time, her art turns toward the intimate. In compositions from the 1940s to the 1970s – especially in the portraits of Simeon Radev – warm, earthy tones, subdued light and inner spiritual harmony prevail. Thus, Vinarova moves from avant-garde expression to inner contemplation, from the image as a reflection of modern times to the image as a spiritual portrait.
Alongside the paintings and graphic works, the exhibition presents documents, letters, and photographs from the Archives State Agency, preserved in the Central State Archive – Fund No. 77K “Family Fund of Simeon and Bistra Radevi (1879–2010).” Among them are photographs of the artist’s family – her parents, General Varban and Elisaveta (Eliza) Vinarovi – as well as her brothers. Also on display are photographs of the artist from her childhood, youth, and the period when she was married to the writer, historian, and diplomat Simeon Radev.
The photographs trace her artistic presence – from the studios of photographer Ivan Karastoyanov, through portraits taken by her teachers Prof. Ferdinand Dorsch and Prof. Hans Hofmann, to snapshots from her husband’s diplomatic missions in Washington and Paris. Among the documents stand out the marriage certificate of Bistra and Simeon Radev (Constantinople, 1924) and two letters from Rainer Maria Rilke and Nikos Kazantzakis, attesting to her international recognition and her spiritual kinship with prominent intellectuals of the twentieth century.
“Beyond the Portrait” reveals Bistra Vinarova’s world through the faces that surrounded her – the people she painted and those who inspired her artistic vision. The exhibition shows how life becomes art – how the image beyond the portrait tells the story of an extraordinary woman who left an enduring mark on Bulgarian culture.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Solоist/s
Martina Tabakova
Ensemble
Quarto Quartet
Program
Frédéric Chopin – Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 8
Konstantin Wladigeroff – Trio
Danny Elfman – Piano Quartet