The City Art Gallery - Plovdiv will present the artist Georgi Takev, little known in our country, who has unfolded his talent primarily in Germany, where he has spent a significant part of his life. From July 23 to August 21, 2024, on both floors of the Temporary Exhibitions Halls at 15 Knyaz Alexander I Street, his grand spiritual return to his homeland will be showcased in an exhibition bearing his name, featuring over 60 artworks from various periods. The opening will take place on July 23 at 18:00.

Georgi Takev was born on November 27, 1952, in Plovdiv. He studied interior design, but his true passion lies in the fine arts. Unwilling to accept the limitations and heavy political atmosphere of socialist Bulgaria, he emigrated at the age of 26. In 1979, he went on a trip to Austria and decided to stay there. In Vienna, he devoted himself to painting, initially copying works in Viennese museums as a beneficial exercise in painting techniques. In 1984, he acquired Austrian citizenship.

In 1985, the artist won an art competition announced by a German construction company and moved to Germany. His surrealistic images of futuristic architecture, often linked with ecological critiques of contemporary society, were published monthly for two years in magazines such as "Stern" and "Spiegel."

In 1995, Takev settled in Kronberg, where from the following year he taught at the Painting School. Inspired by the natural and urban landscapes of the picturesque area, he often paints outdoors. In Germany, Takev excels in various fields of visual arts. Due to his precise drawing and color composition skills, Takev was commissioned by the Cultural Stewardship of Frankfurt, upon the museum Städel's recommendation, to restore frescoes by the 16th-century German artist Jörg Ratgeb at the Carmelite Monastery based solely on preserved watercolors by the author. At the Goethe Museum in Rome, one can see a copy he made of Johann Tischbein's painting "Goethe in the Roman Campaign."

Already in his works for "Spiegel" and "Stern," one notices the expressive approach that would later consciously become defining in the artist's works—his eco-houses twist and bend: "Back then, I didn't realize this would become my theme," the artist shared with Frankfurter Neue Presse in 2017. "The bends are like a labyrinth but also a fundamental part of our lives." In his final years, Georgi Takev focused on them—they appear independently in his paintings, as part of his portraits, and even in his sculptures. "When everything in art is clear, it's too easy," he confesses. Therefore, his deliberately unnamed works challenge the audience to engage deeply with them. They are meant to be thrilling, mysterious, and inspiring.