At the end of last year, it marked the 90th anniversary of the birth of Anastasia Kmetova – an established author of artistic ceramics who created her rich body of work in Plovdiv. The exhibition "Strong Spirit in a Fragile Body," initiated by her close ones, will open on June 26 at 6:00 PM and will be on display until July 14, 2024, at the City Art Gallery – Plovdiv, featuring more than 65 of her ceramic works from different periods.

Anastasia Kmetova was born on December 16, 1933, in the village of Lesicharka, Gabrovo region. In 1958, she graduated in “Ceramics” from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts “N. Pavlovich" in Sofia (now the National Academy of Arts) under Prof. Stoyan Raynov. She worked in monumental-decorative ceramics and small ceramic sculptures.

Since 1960, she participated in general exhibitions of applied arts, in annual ceramic exhibitions in Sofia, and regional exhibitions in Plovdiv. She has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in dozens of group exhibitions of applied arts. She took part in the biennale in Vallauris, France, the quadriennale in Erfurt, Germany, and in international exhibitions in Romania, Moldova, and others. She had a solo presentation at the 40th ceramic exhibition "St. Spyridon" in the gallery of the Union of Bulgarian Artists on "Shipka 6" in the capital.

Works by Anastasia Kmetova can be found in the Museum of Applied Arts in Prague, in the collections of the National Gallery in Sofia, the City Art Gallery – Plovdiv, the Art Gallery – Karlovo, and in private collections in Bulgaria and abroad. She created ceramic reliefs, decorative partition screens, and figural compositions for the facades and interiors of public buildings.

Her monumental ceramic realizations include the facade of a residential building near the Rectorate of the University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski"; the facade of the department store in Hisarya; the facade of the Special School for Students with Hearing Impairments "Prof. Dr. Stoyan Belinov" in Plovdiv. She is also an author of poetry.