Today, a solo show opens at Arte Gallery in Sofia featuring artist-turned-lawyer Ada Mitrani. The event is a way for her to revisit her first profession that she was trained for in Bulgaria. Mitrani has entitled her display Beyond, because for close to three decades she has been living across the Atlantic, in USA. In her view however Beyond is not about parting, it is about spanning bridges between here and there, between art and law.

In America Ada Mitrani graduated in law. She has been working in Washington DC since 2006, at the Department of Energy. In 1995 she created the illustrations for a verse volume by leading Bulgarian English literature scholar and translator Prof. Alexander Shurbanov. Now close to 20 years on, she is back to art, a delightful occupation. The exhibition presents her latest works, from 2013 and 2014, as well as a few ones from the closing decades of 20 c. Here is how the artist defines her own art.

"In my early years, I worked on prints, etchings, lithographs, collages, painted with pastels etc. My latest works manifest a very simple technique. I have only used a sheet of paper and Indian ink. This was my purpose as I sought to eliminate any effects in terms of color, special techniques and materials, so that the clean line stands out.”

Next, Ada Mitrani goes back to her memories of the National Academy of Arts and of the Bulgarian artistic circles.

“I have great memories from that time. I got very solid training here. I had graduated from the High School of Fine Art in Sofia, and then from the Academy where I studied illustration and book design. There was a competitive spirit among artists and we learned from each other. I think that this tradition is still alive. Artists are keen to know about the work of their colleagues, and this can easily happen because the community of artists is small, and geographically close. In the United States not every artist is based in New York or Chicago, so they cannot enjoy the benefits of a closer and smaller community.”

What about the challenges that she had to face as she moved across the Atlantic?

There is a single challenge and it is that one has to get accustomed to the new culture and the new way of life. As far as I am concerned, the process of adjustment took three years. I've heard other people saying the same: one needs three years to feel like at home, get used to the language, to the culture and to getting on with people. There are a few differences from Bulgaria. One has to get deep into this new environment, and there are many hardships on the way.”

Ada Mitrani says more about her job as a lawyer:

“There I deal with cases in which someone is suing the Federal Government, the Department, the Department Secretary or the state. My job is defense. The institution I work for does not usually sue anybody, but we are being sued very often: for either money, legislative amendments, or for doing something we ought to have done, etc.”

What has motivated her to revisit art?

“Since 1995 when I started reading law I have been fully committed to law. It was entirely new to me, and I got very interested in it. However, there comes a moment when the new job grows old. I think I have reached that stage. I need a break from cases and lawsuits. So, gradually, my desire to create art has been revived.”

Finally, her impressions of a changing Bulgaria:

“Bulgaria has changed a lot. I come to visit my home country once every two or three years, so I can see the changes. What I find very nice is that especially in the recent years, the city of Sofia has become more beautiful, cleaner and more convenient. I was happy to find out that they no longer park cars on sidewalks. There are wonderful restaurants, the food is delicious. These are huge changes compared to 1986 when I left Bulgaria. What I definitely dislike is that there is very heavy red tape and one has to wrestle with it on many occasions.”

Photos: Veneta Pavlova