On a rainy May 4, 2017 at 6:30 p.m., the Art Aleya gallery in Sofia presented an exhibition of illustrations by Lyuben Zidarov for Anton Staykov's latest book - "It's Good That Giuseppe Died." The exhibition was opened by Sotir Gelev, Lyuben Zidarov and Anton Staykov.
If someone had ever told me that I would be opening an exhibition by Lyuben Zidarov, I would have thought that something was telling me nonsense, but this is a fact” – Sotir Gelev admitted to the audience. The idea of who would be the illustrator of the publication came from him himself, not believing whether things would work out, but lo and behold! Among the many variants of the different illustrations, the book and the exhibition are a fact. “It is very rare for a person to observe such an event, because we see not only the illustrations for the finished book, but also variants of the illustrations that did not make it into the book.”
Anton Staykov first of all thanks Lyuben Zidarov for agreeing to participate in “this adventure”. This book and exhibition are a kind of continuation of the film that the team made about the artist a few years ago and it very clearly shows the multi-layered creativity of the illustrator. In the many drawings, the visitor to the exhibition sees not only different searches, but also the evolution of the idea and development, and in the book – the final version. While I was looking at the exhibition, a colleague illustrator asked me: “Which of these versions do you think made it into the book?”. I thought about it…
The book began its life even before it was a book. On the one hand, provoked by the “good-natured humor” in Lyuben Zidarov’s work, on the other hand by the stories that until then had only been oral stories, Anton Staykov began to write. After nearly a year of writing and editing, the texts are now in the hands of Lyuben Zidarov. He makes a first version with ink on all the drawings, but he himself rejects it and starts working from scratch. “When I got acquainted with the content, it just grabbed me, because first of all – it corresponded with my whole attitude, which is the terrain of the exhibitions and all my work both as an illustrator and as a painter – humor and satire. This is what made me take on the book. This particular content of the book was the engine that gave me a reason to trust the language of the pencil. To leave the ink aside a little, in order to achieve greater synchronization and greater proximity to this radiance that the book itself carries as a literary work,” shared Lyuben Zidarov himself. He concluded his speech with the words: “Secondly, I want to thank the gallery for the kind invitation. As I found out a little while ago, this case will not be the only one, because Anton Staykov is about to meet with his colleague Anatole France and we will see the book illustrated by the same artist.”
The book is published by the publishing house "Janet 45", the editor is Nadezhda Radulova, and the layout and design are the work of Svoboda Tsekova. The exhibition will last until May 20, and the book is already on sale.
Photos: Milena Radeva – more photos from the opening - here
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