NEWS
Solo Exhibition- MacArthur Center, Norfolk, VA
Iconography
Petya Evtimova- Ivanova
MacArthur Center, Norfolk
Opening- 05/14/2021
For her solo Offsite Gallery exhibition, Petya combines two series of oil paintings that pay homage to and have been provoked by the frescoes of more than 30 women saints at the old Dobarsko Church in Bulgaria, housing 460 frescoes of human figures. Both series are not religious. They represent and pay tribute to the contemporary women among us – powerful and striving to improve the world, yet feminine and fragile at their core.
Reminiscent of old Orthodox icons, Iconography integrates gold leaf accents into portraits on wood. For Potential Saints, black and white portraits on canvas are adorned with decorative elements and saints nimbus such as those found in old church frescoes.
Petya received her MFA from "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" University, Bulgaria with a specialization in Fine Arts.
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Solo Exhibition- Gallery 21, Norfolk, VA
Potential Saints
Petya Evtimova- Ivanova
Gallery 21, Norfolk
Opening- 11/23/2019
Few years ago I was on my way for a wedding in the South-West part of Bulgaria. I am from the North - Central part so, although Bulgaria is a small country, the South-West part of it was still new to me and potentially had secrets yet unrevealed to me. I couldn’t remember who told me about this small and ancient church in an isolated area in the middle of nowhere. Soon, I found myself on a winding road which ended in the small village of Dobarsko just where the mountains start. This is how I got introduced to the many mysteries of the Dobarsko church. My interpretation of that experience inspired the art work that will be presented at Gallery 21 in Norfolk.
Allow me to share some facts firs- this is a three-naved stone basilica half dug into the ground, constructed no later than 1614 (with some sources claiming as early as 1122) The church is small, about 1720 sq. foot - 27 feet long, 21 feet wide, with a highest part of 17 feet. The wall paintings literally cover every square foot- there are 460 human figures. The most famous, striking and curious fact about the church is a frescoes of Jesus in a spaceship and Mary in a capsule of red light. What stroke me even more was the mystery of having frescoes of more than thirty women-saints! No other Orthodox church has so many female figures like this one. How was this even possible?! Thirty Women – saints in a century when the role of a woman mandated by any institution, religion or culture at that time, was too be at home, caring for the kids and for the household. The fact so amazed me that I did some research about these women. Although I did not manage to find much but the clear fact that they all had similar destinies. They believed in something strong, fought for it and many of them lost their lives…Probably they did this without any idea that one day they will be pronounced Saints.
My exhibition presents two series - Iconography series and Potential Saints series. Works from the first series are painted on wood with gold leaves and thus reminding of an old Orthodox icons. The second series comprises works made with oil on canvas.
The paintings are not religious. None of the portraits is related to any physical character. Rather, they are attempted portraits of today’s women – they can be our mothers, grandmothers, relatives, friends or any women around as. The Potential Saints holds portraits in black and white - like an old picture with a glimpse of a documentary. The background is quite the opposite - decorative and reminding us of the old frescoes in churches and saints nimbus. Women of these portraits are powerful, striving to improve themselves and the world around them whilst, at the same time, they are so real and feminine and thus fragile – they are today’s new icons.
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Small Works - Miniatures by Hampton Roads Artists, C. H. Taylor Arts Center, Hampton, VA
Diminutive work is the name of the game in one of Hampton Roads' largest and most popular invitational art shows, which returned this past month to the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center in Hampton.
It runs through Dec. 7 2014.
Mark St. John Erickson
http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/galleriesandmuseums/dp-fea-mark-1109-20141108-story.html
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Art Exhibit "All Those Myths and Dreams" - Old Dominion University, VA, USA
Opening Reception: November 27, 2012, 5 - 7 pm
Exhibit on View: November 27 - December 21, 2012 This event is free and open to the public "Petya Evtimova-Ivanova was born in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. She graduated from the University of Veliko Tarnovo with a Master degree in Fine Arts. She has solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and in the United States and has participated in many international and group exhibitions."      
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Summer Group Show "My Mechanical Heart" in Mayer Fine Art Gallery
11 August 2012 - Closing reception of Summer Group Show "My
Mechanical Heart" in Mayer Fine Art Gallery, Norfolk.
The closing was in honor of Ann Dearsley Vernon.      
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Exibition on the occasion of the Bulgarian National Day, Washington DC
On the 1 March 2012, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the United States of America held a reception at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the Bulgarian National Day – 3rd of March. Hundreds of guests gathered to celebrate, following the invitation by Mrs. Elena Poptodorova – Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the USA - and received martenitzas, accompanied by wishes for health and congratulations for the upcoming Grandma Marta. Representatives of the US State administration, the US Congress, the diplomatic community, the Think Tanks, the Academia, the NGOs, the business and cultural entities, and plenty of Bulgarians – all joined the reception as the most prominent event in the Bulgarian Embassy’s Calendar. Congratulations were forwarded by Ambassador Poptodorova and Mrs. James Townsend – Deputy US Defense Secretary for Europe and NATO.
The Bulgarian artist Petya Evtimova-Ivanova presented her artworks that interpreted in a unique and original way the Bulgarian culture – its traditions and myths.
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