"Creator and Speech: from perception to image"

On 22^nd May from 4 p.m. Bulgarian Culture Institute invites you in the White Hall of the Library for foreign literature to visit in honor of 24 May - the Day of Slavonic alphabet and culture, the opening of the first exposition in Moscow of the talented young Bulgarian artist-designers Kapka Kaneva and Damyan Damyanov - "Creator and Speech: From perception to image".

"For me the book is a field for self-expression, the space which I would like to experience, to rationalize and spiritualize by means of visual."

Exactly in this way Kapka Kaneva characterized the essence of the book trough her own eyes and senses of a talented young artist. The exhibition includes projects, fulfilled within the last three years and connected with book's illustration and design. Kapka Kaneva adds:

"I am an artist In Libris - my creativity belongs to the books. I look for the book block's form, most relevant to its contents - beginning with its format, spatial and graphic design (book's composition, illustrations and typography), passing trough choice of the materials, and ending with printing realization. I believe that every book needs a stylish and professional graphic introduction. However, I am interested exactly in these publications which challenge the creator in me. I feel good when I get the chance to illustrate and design a book to which text I would like to add my own parallel artistic interpretation".

Prof. Viktor Paunov, illustrator, Deputy Dean of the Faculty for Fine Arts of the National Art Academy:

"...Indeed, Kapka Kaneva has the full right to believe that the book is her own territory, her own place. These affinity and preference she had stated before our acquaintance. For 14 creative years she is still so young. The solidity of her claim to be called an artist In Libris is based on three reasons: her indisputable talent, rich culture, education, knowledge and her deduction to this specific and nowadays rare avocation."

Kapka Kaneva was born in Sofia on 5^th February 1978. She has graduated the National High School for Arts and the National Art Academy majoring in "Book and Graphics". In 2006 she won a competition for work in Cite Internationale des Arts and residence in Paris. In 2008 she defended PhD devoted to the nontraditional publications for children. She works in the field of illustration, paper and graphic design, paper plastic and collage. She is interested in the aspects of the book as a spatial object.

In 2001 she was awarded for the thesis of her PhD by foundation "Open society". She is also awarded as a young artist in the competitions "Artist and text" (2005) and "Art of the Bulgarian Book" (2006). Series "European romanticism" of publishing house "Altera" with her graphic design received the prize "Bronze lion" of Association "Bulgarian Book" for best edition project for 2010. In 2011 she was awarded second prize and diploma for illustration within the Second Biennale of the Bulgarian design.

Along with her numerous participations in common initiatives, the artist has realized series of personal exhibitions. In 2009 one of them received a nomination for prize in the field of modern Arts by MTel. In 2011 she presented illustrations and book's design in Diósgyőr Ady Endre Cultural and Leisure Centre in Mishkolz - Hungary and in Bolgár Kulturális Intézet, Budapest, Hungary.

Kapka Kaneva is a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists and Art Directors Club Bulgaria. She teaches "Illustration and Book design" in the University of Sofia.

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"To make something simple, but enough clever, unusual and in most cases - beautiful".  In this way Damyan Damyanov determines the greatest challenges in his work as graphic designer. In his exhibition the young artist presents posters, book covers and illustrations.

Jordan Eftimov - critic:

"The covers of Damyan Damyanov are brothers of the theatrical covers - a kind of political art. Their essence is in the scrambled and subdued in ambush provocation. If we decide to compare the art of this artist of the modern Bulgarian book with a part of the literate genres' language, then its equivalent varies between epigrams of Catullus and Martial - on the one hand, and these of John Dunn - on the other; regarding blood group it fluctuates between the Russian chastushki and Wilde's paradoxes; it resembles the English limericks and Zenon's aporias. And these are just results regarding comparison of his work with the literature. If we talk about the techniques actually used by Damyan Damyanov, then we have to admit that there is everything in his arsenal. The common thing is always one and the same - abruptness".

Damyan Damyanov was born on 5^th April 1982 in Sliven, Bulgaria. He has graduated Secondary School for Arts in Sliven majoring in "Commercial graphics" and National Art Academy majoring in "Poster and visual communication" in the class of Ivan Gazdov where he is currently an assistant. In 2007 he was invited to make a specialization in „Cite Internationalе des Arts", Paris.

Awards which Damyan Damyanov has received include: First Place in a painting competition named on Marin Ustagenov and an award in a symposium "Art-Collage - Plovdiv" (2002), award in the competition "The picture", National Art Academy" (2004), award in the competition "Seasons"  by bmg&Adobe (2005), diploma for an young artist in the exhibition "An artist and text", and diploma in the section "Font" within the National Exhibition of Bulgarian Book's Art" (2006).

In 2008 he was awarded second prize within the First Biennale of the Bulgarian design. In 2009 he opened a personal exhibition in the Hall "Chapel" in the National Art Gallery. In 2010 he appeared as a curator of the exhibition "Caravan of the ten words" in "Altera" gallery in Sofia. In 2011 Damyan Damyanov opened a personal exhibition "Artists of the Bulgarian book" in the bookstore "Helikon". In 2012 he took part in the exhibition organized by the lectors in "Poster and visual communication" in the National Art Academy.

Damyan Damyanov has taken part in a lot of exhibitions and festivals for posters in Bulgaria and abroad. He works in the field of posters, calligraphy, graphic design (with more than 500 covers, illustrations and advertisements for editions of Ciela, publishing houses "Paradox", "Fakel" and "Altera"), postal-philatelic publications, logo- and fontdesign.

Since 2007 Damyan Damyanov is an assistant in the field of "Poster and visual communication" in the National Art Gallery.