site.btaStoimen Stoilov Exhibition Opens at Vienna's Haus Wittgenstein Feb. 28

An exhibition of works by Stoimen Stoilov will open at Haus Wittgenstein in Vienna on February 28, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute said on Facebook.

The exhibition of painting, pastels and drawings is dedicated to the artist's 80th birthday and can be viewed until March 28.

Prof Stoilov was born in Varna in 1944. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia and started the International Print Biennial Varna - the first in Bulgaria and one of the ten oldest events for graphic art in Europe. In 1991, Stoilov received the Gottfried von Herder Prize from the University of Vienna. Later that year, his studio in Varna was burnt to the ground and numerous works were lost. He settled in Vienna afterwards.

In 2009, Austria conferred upon him the title of Professor in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the development of its culture and arts. In 2010, Stoilov was awarded Bulgaria's Order of the Balkan Range, First Class. In 2024, he received the Bulgarian Culture Ministry's highest honour, the Golden Age Award, for his contribution to culture and art.

Following a competition, Stoilov was selected to artistically commemorate an anniversary of the Vienna Metro. His artwork features over 200 iconic figures of the city, from the Habsburgs to Mozart, Strauss, Freud and Elias Canetti, up to the present day.

The artist has held solo exhibitions at Palais Porcia and the Egon Schiele Museum in Austria, at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, CT, in Perth, Western Australia, and across Europe.