In Guardians
| Born 31.08.1937, Rakitovo, Region of Pazardzhik, Bulgaria |
| 1962 Graduated from the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia with a degree in Decorative and Monumental Sculpture under Professor Lyubomir Dalchev. (Graduation work: The Relay, bronze, now exhibited in the grounds of the National Sports Academy in Sofia.) |
| Academic Work |
| 1968 – Art teacher |
| 1969 – 1994 Teacher, Associate Professor (1977), Professor (1986) at the Department of Drawing and Modelling, School of Architecture, Higher Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Sofia |
| 1994 – 2011 Professor at the Department of Sculpture, National Fine Arts Academy, Sofia |
| 2016 Member of the Academy [Коя?] |
| WORKS |
| Memorial Ensembles |
| 1977 The Defenders of Stara Zagora (The Banner of Samara), 50 m, concrete, granite, bronze, Stara Zagora, (as Lead Consultant) |
| 1981 Bulgaria’s Founding Fathers, 50 m, concrete, granite, bronze, Shoumen, (as Lead Consultant). “[Damyanov] did not seek to portray the Bulgarian Khans and Tsars, but developed instead an ensemble of gestures and allegories reflecting their historic significance. Thus, Asparukh has been presented as a hawk looking ahead to new conquests.” (24 Hours, 11.10.2009) |
| 1985 The Assens [a Bulgarian royal dynasty], Veliko Turnovo, (as Lead Consultant). In 1985, on the day the ensemble was unveiled, Krum Damyanov explained his approach to the subject: “Rising amidst the earthly rulers, pointing towards the sky, the sword becomes a cross.” [Източник?] “In my mind I have always pictured Bulgaria as the Virgin Orans, with arms outstretched to plead and protect, life-giving, the protectress of life.” (Krum Damyanov, 24 Hours, 11.10.2009) “I was gripped by terror until the very end, for I knew that if the Monument failed, that would be the fall of Turnovo itself. I had no doubt about it. If it spoiled the most iconic central view of the city, the disaster would be irreparable. And I can tell you, it was fiendishly difficult to blend it in, to fit all the elements along the existing axes of the hotel, the bridge, the Boruna quarter, the road leading up to the University—a given setting, a complicated frame of reference within which the monument had to find its own raison d’être.” [Източник?] |
| Monuments |
| 1978 Banner of Peace (The Bells), 30 m, concrete, bronze, Sofia, (as Lead Consultant) |
| 1985 Clock Tower (1000 Years Haskovo), 24 m, steel, granite, Haskovo |
| 1989 Sophronius of Vratsa, 5 m, granite, bronze, marble, Vratsa |
| 1993 Crucifix, 6 m, granite, marble, Kyustendil |
| Large-Scale Sculpture |
| 1972 Icarus, marble, Sofia, (exhibited in the park outside the Sofia City Gallery) |
| 1973 Orpheus, bronze, Kurdzhali, (put on display in 2007) |
| 1974 Father and Son, bronze, Plovdiv |
| 1977 The Monk of Mount Athos, stone, Rakitovo |
| 1983 My Father, bronze, Rakitovo, Pleven |
| 1983 1393, bronze, Rakitovo, (lost) |
| 1986 Bull, granite, Konstanz, Germany |
| 1988 Keys, granite, Plovdiv, (private collection) |
| 1992 Bust of Elin Pelin, bronze, Sofia, (exhibited in the Boris Park) |
| 1993 Bust of Georgi Asparukhov, granite, Sofia, (exhibited at the Gerena Stadium) |
| 1995 The Cripple, ceramics, private collection |
| 1995 Orpheus and Eurydice, ceramics, private collection |
| 1995 Mother and Child, ceramics, USA |
| 1995 My Mother, ceramics, USA |
| 1995 Totem I & II, ceramics, USA |
| 1996 Bull, ceramics, bronze, private collection |
| 2001 Sts Cyril and Methodius, plaster, (unfinished) |
| 2001 Keys, wood, metal, Geel, Belgium, Voeten Collection |
| 2002 A Ton in the Air, stainless steel, Geel, Belgium, Voeten Collection |
| 2003 Corrida, bronze, Geel, Belgium, Voeten Collection |
| 2004 Saturnalia, wood, bronze, Geel, Belgium, Voeten Collection |
| 2004 Angel, bronze, Sofia, in the grounds of The Bells monument (stolen and replaced with a mock figure of welded rain pipes) |
| 2005 The Oath, ceramics, Sofia, (exhibited in the compound of the Foreign Ministry) |
| 2005 Bull, bronze, Sofia, (exhibited in front of the Stock Exchange) |
| 2007 Passage, ceramics, Cherven Bryag |
| 2007 Keys, ceramics, Cherven Bryag |
| 2007 The Prodigal Son, ceramics, Geel, Belgium, Voeten Collection |
| 2009 St. Anthony, ceramics, Cherven Bryag |
| 2010 Pilate [?], ceramics, Bratsigovo |
| 2010 Salome, ceramics, Bratsigovo |
| 2010 General Ivan Kolev (life-size equestrian figure, plaster, unexhibited) |
| 2011 Apollo, plaster, (unfinished) |
| 2012 Abraham’s Sacrifice, aluminium |
| 2012 Bust of General Stilyan Kovachev, bronze, Rakitovo |
| 2014 [?]Plachi Kamak (Stone of Tears) Area, Bratsigovo |
| 2015 Orpheus, bronze, Sofia, (exhibited in Sofia Airport underground station) |
| Recurring subject-matter has been at the focus of Damyanov’s creative endeavours over the years and has featured in multiple compositions and materials. |
| Decorative Sculpture |
| 1966 Decorative latticework and wall pieces in a number of hotels in the Sunny Beach Resort |
| 1969 Decorative wall pieces (copper) in the Sofia Hotel, Sofia, (with Valentin Starchev and Ivan Neshev; lost in subsequent refurbishment) |
| 1975 Decorative piece (stone) in the Boyana State Residence, Sofia, (with others) |
| Designs for medals, orders and coins. |
| Small-Scale Sculpture |
| Numerous works owned by public galleries and private collectors in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands and the USA. In Bulgaria: National Gallery, Sofia City Gallery, Modern Art Museum, galleries in Varna, Burgas, Veliko Turnovo, (Pompey] I & II, bronze, exhibited in front of the Turnovo Gallery, stolen) etc. Permanent exhibition in Bratsigovo; private collections in Sofia, Plovdiv, Sozopol). Damyanov’s body of small works features numerous heads and portraits, free-standing figures and compositions, such as The Cripple, Susana, Suricates, Bull Fighters, Cockerels, Pumas, Scorpions, horses, etc. |
| Exhibitions pre-1994 |
| Numerous group exhibitions and art salons in Bulgaria and abroad; Biennale de Paris; (1969), the exhibition Examples of European Sculpture Today at the Wiener Secession in Vienna and many other exhibitions in Moscow, Warsaw, India, Bucharest, the Netherlands, Germany and Budapest. |
| Exhibitions post-1994 |
| 1995 Sofia, Bulgaria, Sezoni Gallery, with Zlatka Dubova |
| 1996 Passau, Germany, paintings |
| 1996 Passau, Germany, international exhibition |
| 1996 Sofia, Bulgaria, Raiko Alexiev Gallery |
| 1998 Sofia, Bulgaria, Raiko Alexiev Gallery |
| 1998 Paris, France |
| 1999 Miami, USA, 47 bronzes and ceramics, (with Svetlin Rousev) |
| 2001 Sofia, Bulgaria, Ciclop Gallery |
| 2002 Paris, France, Cité international des arts |
| 2002 Brussels, Belgium, Europalia |
| 2003 Moret-sur-Loing, France, paintings and sculpture |
| 2005 Moret-sur-Loing, France, sculpture, (with teachers and students of the National Fine Arts Gallery) |
| 2005 Paris, France, Bulgarian Cultural Institute, Week of Foreign Culture in Paris, Exhibition of Bulgarian Art from the Belgian Voeten Collection |
| 2007 Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria |
| 2007 Cherven Bryag, Bulgaria |
| 2008 Sofia, Bulgaria, Foreign Art Gallery, (with Professor Dimitur Trendafilov) |
| 2008 Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Autumn Days of the Arts |
| 2009 Bratsigovo, Bulgaria, permanent open-air exhibition of ceramic sculpture |
| 2010 Bratsigovo, Bulgaria |
| 2011Sofia, Bulgaria, Arté Gallery, bronzes and paintings |
| 2012 Paris, France, Bulgarian Cultural Institute, aluminium sculptures |
| 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria, Nuance Gallery, sculpture and paintings |
| 2015 Paris, France, Bulgarian Cultural Institute, 33 Self-Portraits of Contemporary Bulgarian Artists (April); Sofia, Bulgaria, Finesse Gallery (June) |
| 2015 Sofia, Bulgaria, Arté Gallery, Small-Scale Pieces by Larger-Than-Life Sculptors, (with others) |
| 2015 Sofia, Bulgaria, Sredets Gallery (with others) |
| 2016 Group exhibitions at the Bulgarian Cultural Institutes in Berlin and Vienna |
| 2017 Sofia, Bulgaria, Raiko Alexiev Gallery, Festival of Contemporary Ceramics, as Guest Participant of Honour to mark his 80th anniversary
|
| 2017, 6-27th October Sofia, Bulgaria, Raiko Alexiev Gallery, 80th Anniversary Exhibition, coloured aluminium |
| Participation in various solo and collective exhibitions on topical subjects |
| Sculptural Symposia |
| 1968 Lindabrunn, Austria, Stonework |
| 1969 Sankt Margarethen, Austria, Stonework |
| 1970 Hainuvka, Poland, Woodwork |
| 1971 Lindabrunn, Austria, Stonework |
| 1988 Lindabrunn, Austria, Stonework |
| 1996 Passau, Germany, Painting |
| 1987 Seoul, Republic of Korea, Art Olympics, (12 m granite piece) |
| Krum Damyanov has been distinguished with numerous professional and state awards, including: Ivan Lazarov Monumental Sculpture Award (1978 and 1982); Contribution to Bulgarian Art Lifetime Achievement Award (Bulgarian Artists Union, 1999); Zlatno pero [Golden Quill] Award (2004); Zlaten vek [Golden Age] Award (Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, 2006); President’s Badge of Honour (2007); Fine Arts Award (2008); First Degree Order of Sts Cyril and Methodius (2008); Paisius of Hilendar State Prize (2009); First Degree Order of Stara Planina (2016); Zlaten vek Neckpiece (6 October 2017) |
| Dimitrov State Prize (1978); Red Labour Banner for overall achievement; Distinguished Artist honorary title (1981); three Ivan Lazarov Awards (1977, 1981 and 1986). |
0
Comments (0)
Leave a reply
Related Articles
Lili Vladimirova’s biography
/ No Comments
Videos from Venice Today about “Guardians” exhibition
/ No Comments