Ekaterina Getsova – Katya
Born 23 July, 1944 in Targovishte,
Bulgaria
- 1964-1971 Studied at IMPRUM Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, specializing in glass art under Professor Libenski.
- 1971 Applied Art Exhibition at Sofia City Art Gallery.
- 1973 International Biennial for Glass Design, Valencia, Spain
- 1974 Retrospective Applied Art Exhibition, Shipka 6 Gallery, Sofia
- 1975 Applied Art Exhibition, Yambol Gallery.
- 1982 Applied Art Exhibition, Shipka 6 Gallery, Sofia
- 1983 Sliven Fires Gallery, Sliven
- 1987 Exhibition, Shipka 6 Gallery, Sofia
- 1987 Applied Art Exhibition, Targovishte.
- 1988 Exhibition Symposium, Novi Bor, Czechoslovakia.
- 2004 Exhibition in Prague, Czech republic
- 2006 Exhibition in Arosita Gallery, Sofia
- 2008 European Glass Context
- 2010 Exhibition Internationale Glaskunst Zwiese
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- 1979 Hall of the International students ‘club, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
- 1982 Union of Bulgarian Artists, Sofia.
- 1983 Union of Bulgarian Architects, Sofia.
- 1989 Biot Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
- 1989 Mitsukoshi Gallery, Nagoya, Japan.
- 1991 Arosita Gallery, Sofia
- 2010 Arosita Gallery, Sofia
AWARDS
- 1971 Applied Art Exhibition Award.
- 1973 International Design Award, Valencia, Spain
- 1979 Award of the Ministry of Culture for overall performance.
- 1983 Ivan Milev Award.
- 1987 Sliven Fires Award for design
DECORATIVE-MONUMENTAL GLASS PANELS:
- Bulgarian National Assembly – central staircase and restaurant;
- Ministry of Finance – staircase;
- Ministry of Internal Affairs – winter garden;
- Ministry for the Environment;
- Prices Committee – central staircase;
- Tolbuhin Central Bank – operations room;
- Drama Theatre, Smolyan – staircase;
- Drama Theatre, Sliven – glass light fittings;
- Town Halls: Sliven, Vratsa, Sofia.
- Musical Academy, Rome, House of the world-famous opera singer Boris Hristov – glass wall in foyer;
- Restaurant Savoy, Sofia – 26 panels in foyer;
- Casino in Pliska Hotel – 3 panels;
- Casino, Samokov – 5 glass panels;
- Casino Admiral, Varna;
- Casino, Golden Sands – 9 glass panels;
- Metro station, Nagoya, Japan, “Rhapsody in Blue” (2x11m);
- Metro station, Nagoya, Japan (2×9 m).
HER WORKS ARE IN THE POSSESSION OF:
Museum of Valencia, Spain; Museum of Appied art, Sofia; Kardzhali Gallery; Strazhitsa Gallery; Yambol Gallery; Kazanlak Gallery; Alain Municipality, Abu Dabi; Chamber of Commerce, Moscow; Novi Bor Museum, Czech Republic and many private collections in Europe, USA and Japan.
She is living and working in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Address: 17 Zagrebska Str.; Sofia; Bulgaria ;
+359 889 47 12 42, +359 2 955 05 32,
arosita@abv.bg
katiagetsova@abg.bg,
www.arosita.info
For decades now the art of Ekaterina Getsova-Katia transposes variety of meaning to the “glass” material, which definitively outnumber its supposed applications. Because of many trickles of circumstances and reasons she is part of the contemporary artistic dimension, but not as a “applied glass artist”, but as a person who made an enlightened choice of material, with its unique possibilities, along with its specific restrictions. Undoubtedly, one of these trickles is the education Katia received in Prague in the studio of the famous Prof. Libenski. On the other hand, she is an artist belonging to a convicted generation striving to erase the boundaries between “fine” and “applied”. Let’s not forget Katia’s organizational activities – and even this exhibition in “Yuzina” Gallery is part of the International Glass Fest – Sofia 2012 , which is currently spreading in several exhibition areas throughout the city. Being the second-time organizer of this festival, Katia Getsova wants to initiate a broad international platform for artists to exchange practices, artists who deal with the contemporary glass art problems. In this sense, we can justly say that what we see is an exhibition of one of the creators of the contemporary conceptual dimension in glass art.
In this solo exhibition Katia Getsova exhibits several glass figures of actual size, glass reliefs and other objects. Perceived as a unity, they form a sculptural group, as if made up by ephimeral coloured lights. These glass castings are gratiously combined with ropes and light pipes, which puts them on the border between the sculpture and the installation. A close-up reveals shapes, masterfully reflecting the specifics of the glass, its casting, colouring, cutting, engraving and texture.
Last but not least – these are all female figures. The main focus in Katia Getsova’s art work over the last years is the woman. Trasnparent or semi-transparent, frontal and coloured figures of the archaic Greek times, occasionally carrying along erotic allusions, they have no direct literature message. Rather, they are simultaneously pre-modern and contemporary, silent and enigmatic, relying on the “speech” of their intrinsic luminosity and a sense of fragility.
Svilen Stefanov
