From the Artist:
Images intertwine—along the road, across walls, upon doors. I absorb these messages; I photograph them, dream them, and invent my own stories. The Black Madonna found me in the Cape Verde Islands and settled into my paintings. A conversation between two Bulgarian Roma women on a bus stopped in front of “La Costa” in London gave birth to the series The Walls, which is part of this exhibition. And the doors? The doors are a symbol I invite you to feel—as a bridge to a past, to a carefree, dusty, sunlit childhood of the 1970s.
For me, it is a challenge to draw you into my sensibility and my way of perceiving.
I search for the imprint of time, for the messages on the walls; I delve into symbols; legends consume me—like the one about the Dragon’s House in the village of Pirin, for example. A local singer once sang it and told it, sending shivers down my spine and giving rise to a new series. These are the impulses that inspire me and give me no rest until I recreate them.
I hope to touch you, and that you will sense that elusive feeling of déjà vu—when you know this has happened before. And yet it slips away again; the images blur, turn almost black and white. I am not in first grade, not playing Fox Bride, and yet—it is now. Now is Prague, now is London, now are the islands—now is the whole world.
I dream with a brush and charcoal in hand, my eyes open.
I see my mother’s hair, reaching down to her knees. The shadow of an old door is cast—of a house that no longer exists; another door tells of a quiet presence.
I peer through the keyhole of childhood; the images find me on their own and fall into place.
I turn the pages, travel through time—and it ceases to exist.
A pink moon and scattered shadows.
By Prof. Valeri Chakalov
DEAR GUESTS, DEAR ART LOVERS,
It is my great pleasure to introduce Bistra Bakalova. I first encountered her and her art during an international plein air in Stara Zagora in 2025. Even then, at the final exhibition at the Lubor Bayer Hall, I immediately noticed her distinct presence. It was not merely a matter of technique, but a specific spiritual imprint—a synthesis of a cosmopolitan sensibility and a deep, almost archaeological connection to memory.
Today, we immerse ourselves in an exhibition that is not simply a collection of canvases, but a traveler’s diary—moving between Prague, London, Cabo Verde, and her roots in Bulgaria. Bistra does not merely paint; she absorbs the messages of the world—on walls, along the road, on old doors—and transforms them into a symbiosis of reason and intuition, into dreams rendered with brush and charcoal. The exhibition functions as a visual journal, gathering traces of her life and artistic journeys.
Bistra Bakalova’s painting is rich and multilayered, reflecting her academic training built upon a solid educational foundation. Born in Yambol and educated at the National School of Fine Arts in Sliven, she continued her studies at the St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo and graduated from the Kyiv Academy of Fine Arts in Ukraine (1988–1992).
Since 1992, she has lived and worked in the Czech Republic. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Europe and the United States.
Her works can be found on contemporary art platforms such as Saatchi Art and Artmajeur, where various series from recent decades are presented.
Her artistic language can be described as a combination of abstract expressionism with elements of figuration and street art. She often embeds recognizable imagery within abstract spaces, creating a sense of dream or déjà vu. Symbols—such as doors and keyholes—intertwine with modernist approaches that seek to capture the “imprint of time.”
“FRAGMENTS OF THE PAST, SEALED MOMENTS, A GLIMPSED MEMORY…”
These textual elements within Bistra’s works are not merely descriptive—they form the very DNA of her painting. In her practice, experimentation begins where memory meets matter. For Bistra, the canvas becomes an archaeological site, where she gathers “fragments”—from Prague, from London, from her childhood in Bulgaria—and preserves them through a complex layering of media.
“I search for the imprint of time, for the messages on the walls; I delve into symbols, I am absorbed by legends,” the artist shares.
FRAGMENTS OF THE PAST
The title of this series is key to understanding Bistra’s creative process. She does not simply paint memories—she creates artifacts. Each canvas is a “fragment,” extracted from her personal history and reimagined through bold visual experimentation. This materialized memory invites the viewer to become an explorer. Through the keyholes of doors, the textures of walls, and the shadows of childhood, we witness how Bistra Bakalova transforms subjective memory into universal art. This is not merely a retrospective, but a living, pulsating matter that reminds us that the past is always present—here and now.
In these works, the past is not static; it is raw material, reshaped through the prism of her contemporary perception. Through the aesthetics of memory, she builds a bridge to lost innocence, transforming personal experiences into universal symbols of intimacy and melancholy.
PAINTING AS A TERRITORY OF EXPERIMENT
In Bistra Bakalova’s work, technique is not merely a tool—it is the very heart of the creative process, driven by an unrelenting experimental spirit. She transcends the boundaries of the traditional static canvas, transforming it into a dynamic field for exploring new media and unexpected combinations.
Within her works, one encounters the graphic strength of charcoal, ink, and pastel, shaping line with remarkable clarity. She turns the surface into a living fabric, incorporating textiles and collage elements that lend the works a three-dimensional, almost tactile presence. The contemporary edge of her exploration emerges in bold spray accents—a modern, street art nuance that enters into an intriguing dialogue with her classical training.
Her layering technique allows colors to permeate one another, creating depth and the illusion of movement within memory. She often employs monochrome figures against richly colored backgrounds to emphasize the contrast between past and present.
Another recent challenge for the artist is ceramics, which are also part of this exhibition. In them, her new plastic explorations merge with her recognizable aesthetic. The exhibition at Gallery 33 demonstrates her courage to experiment with three-dimensional forms and complex textures.
HER ART IS A DIALOGUE BETWEEN “NOW” AND “THEN.”
This exhibition challenges our own sensitivity. Bistra invites us to experience that elusive feeling of déjà vu—when images blur, turn monochrome, intertwine, and make us forget where reality ends and where the dream begins.
“I turn the pages, I travel through time—and it ceases to exist,” she shares.
Today, time truly stands still. What remains are the pink sun, the cast shadows, and the stories Bistra has recreated for us.
ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF BISTRA BAKALOVA!
Prof. Valeri Chakalov
Bistra Bakalova is an artist whose creative path unfolds between Bulgaria and Europe, shaping a deeply personal and recognizable visual language. Born in Bulgaria, she graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Sliven, continued her studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Veliko Tarnovo University, and between 1988 and 1992 specialized at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kyiv.
Since 1992, she has lived and worked in Prague—a cultural environment that has become a natural extension of her artistic development and international presence.
At the core of her practice lies a process of collecting and transforming impressions—fragments of reality that the artist “absorbs”: images on walls and doors, overheard conversations, myths, and personal memories. These become starting points for series built intuitively, yet with an inner logic and coherence. Thus, a conversation overheard on a bus in London gave rise to the series The Walls, while an encounter with the image of the Black Madonna in the Cape Verde Islands found continuation in painterly interpretations.
Doors emerge as a central symbol in this exhibition—as memory and as a possibility of passage. They lead to a carefree, dusty, sunlit childhood of the 1970s, but also open spaces toward the inner world and the collective memory. In Bakalova’s work, time is not linear—it unfolds simultaneously as past and present, as lived experience and as dream.
Her creative process is driven by impulses—legends such as that of the Dragon’s House in the village of Pirin, random voices, personal visions. These seemingly disparate sources merge into a unified visual fabric in which the real and the imagined coexist. “I dream with a brush and charcoal in hand, with my eyes open,” the artist shares, capturing the essence of her approach.
Her painting does not offer singular interpretations, but rather seeks a shared experience. It invites the viewer to recognize that elusive sense of déjà vu—a moment in which images appear familiar, yet remain intangible, dissolving between memory and the present.
Over the years, Bistra Bakalova has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, and beyond. Her work has been presented in galleries in Prague, Basel, Paris, London, and Frankfurt, as well as within international forums such as the Autumn Salon of Art in Paris.
Her works are part of private collections in more than 45 countries worldwide—a testament to the broad international interest in her practice.
This exhibition marks Bistra Bakalova’s first presentation before a Bulgarian audience—a symbolic return to the place where her artistic journey began. In this context, the exhibition unfolds as a space of encounter: between the personal and the universal, between past and present, between artist and viewer.
The exhibition will be open to visitors from April 28 to May 16, 2026.
Vernissage (with invitations): April 28, 6 p.m.
Venue: Gallery 33, 2A Gabrovo St.
Tel.: 0899878333
E-mail: contact@gallery33.art
Admission: Free