Until May18, a representative exhibition of artist Ivan Trichkov /1892-1959/ can be seen by visitors to Loran Gallery in Sofia. In the early 20th century the artists was popular in Bulgaria, although not being among the most prominent names. Later, he was forgotten. The 125th birthday anniversary of the artists was in 2017. But the exhibition is opened now because it was difficult to gather his works - scattered in various places, often without sufficient appreciation for their value.

“Ivan Trichkov is known mainly as a landscape painter. His contemporaries used to call him ‘The Master of Mountain Landscape’,” artist Mariana Avramova says. “This can be clearly seen in the exhibition. One can see landscape paintings from of Rila, Pirin, Stara Planina (the Balkan Range), the valley of the Maritsa River. And that is why the title of the exhibition is ‘Beautiful nature of Bulgaria’.”

The life of the artist was not the easiest one, Mariana Avramova says. Ivan Trichkov was born in Vratsa and studied in the Academy of Arts. Because of social and other reasons, he interrupted his studies. He took part in the Balkan Wars and World War I and then again did not manage to graduate from the Academy. He then had a long period in his life during which he worked as a clerk in various state institutions, including as a draftsman. He was a teacher at school and many years passed until he left work and started to support himself only with art. At the end of the 1930s, his works became popular. Among the admirers of his works were people from elite circles - including the royal palace, ambassadors, writers. He was an extremely productive artist, and there are data about 22 organized exhibitions of his art.

After the arrival of Soviet-style socialism in Bulgaria in 1944-46, life of the artist made a sharp turn. He was not a prominent opponent of the communist system and its "socialist realism," but did not adapt sufficiently to it. "His works started to be seen in a polarized manner," Mariana Avramova says.

“Some liked his art, others did not. It was said his art was not educational enough. There is probably a reason for the criticism - and it is the fact he was close to the Palace. Naturally, there are no specific archival documents about this. He fell into disgrace but unlike other artists, he was not sent to jail. However, interest in his works dropped and he was forced to knock on the doors of his friends and acquaintances to offer his art for small sums.”

Ivan Trichkov continued to paint until the end of his life. He traveled across Bulgaria to paint and he was among the artists who constantly followed their desire to depict nature. The artist has almost no works other than landscapes. He managed to include some motion and human figures in his landscapes because he was criticized for not having any movement in his works. Trichkov did not make compromises with himself as an artist. His latest works have the same poetic irradiance and his last exhibition took place just a year before his death.

The current exhibition in Sofia is accompanied by a catalog, which is actually the first such book dedicated to Ivan Trichkov. Before that there had been no other publications devoted entirely to his life and his work. We are pleased by this combination of an exhibition and catalog because we can provide more information about the author, Mariana Avramova says.

“Trichkov has exact perception and a natural, innate sense of natural motifs. His works imply a sense of a never-ending reality," the art expert writes in the book.

English: Alexander Markov