"HAUTE COUTURE - HAUTE SOUDURE", exhibition of Zhivko Sedlarski

On September 19, 2024, the sculptor Zhivko Sedlarski presented his steel models at the National Palace of Culture. 

The exhibition is the starting point of the 2024 season. It lays the foundations for the restoration of the "Salon of Arts".

The spaces of the palace gathered over 100 like-minded people who united in enjoying the sculptures of Zhivko Sedlarski.

The event was attended by Ms. Andriyana Petkova - Executive Director of the National Palace of Culture, Deputy Minister of Culture Kalin Veliov, Prof. Lyubomir Staykov, Prof. Stanislav Pamukchiev, Ms. Snezhana Yoveva and others.

The exhibition program had an official part, in which speeches were made, and a cocktail part, where the guests of the event had the opportunity to enjoy the artist's sculptures, get to know him and exchange cultural impressions.

Deputy Minister of Culture Kalin Veliov:

".....I have a message that I handed to Mr. Sedlarski. Ms. Petkova, distinguished guests. Welcome! It is an honor for me to open this exhibition. As a new and recent holder of this position, on behalf of the Ministry I would like to thank you for being here.

I believe that our presence and the exhibition at this place, which we associate as a main point for presenting culture, is extremely important.

I believe that the National Palace of Culture should continue this tradition of presenting Bulgarian culture, which should be present in full force and I hope that it will develop even more in the coming years.

It is a great honor for Mr. Sedlarski to be present at the National Palace of Culture. Such an international artist with Bulgarian roots to be able to reach the Bulgarian audience again.

Thank you, this is from me as a representative of the Ministry of Culture."

Mrs. Andriyana Petkova - Executive Director of the National Palace of Culture:

".. I will address all of you as "dear friends", because art has an incredible ability to gather like-minded people and friends around it.
Regardless of which part of the diversity of this word "art" we use - it builds bridges, makes policies, builds friends and creates something very special in the space in which we reside. It creates a desire to create.
This exhibition is the beginning of a renewal of the "Salon of Arts". I want to thank Nina Naydenova, who is part of the board, and with whom we created the "Salon of Arts". We have created an extremely strong program in which the arts of painting, sculpture, performance, performing arts, arts for children will live.
Now we are starting an exceptional festival and cultural season in 2024.

I want to share something feminine with you, dear guests. Yesterday I fell asleep looking at the new Chanel collection. The whole time I was thinking that these sculptures are suitable for a Chanel exhibition. The author is very plastic and modern. I personally have a bias towards painting. Prof. Pamukchiev knows this.
Last but not least, I want to thank Bobi Nachev, Albena and the entire team, but most of all the author, because this exhibition is a bold decision. This is to bring all these wonderful sculptures from Paris so that the Bulgarian public can touch them..."

Zhivko Sedlarski is bulgarian-french artist, born in Elhovo, Bulgaria, son of painter Kolio Sedlarski.
Because of his long artistic path by 1987 to nowadays, his art is owned by museums, galleries and private collections in Bulgaria, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, USA, Lebanon, China and other countries around the world.
The author is a pioneer with iconic sculptures that represent "fashion that doesn’t dress". He is known as the "Knight of Steel Ladies".
As the son of an artist, Sedlarski was fed with the material of art from his early life path, but as he himself shares – painting is not his aploa.
Of course, this kind of art is his impetus in which he finds his real path further in time.
The first steps in art were expressed in imitating his father (Kolio Sedlarski), but without success, because for him the color spectrum is boring, or in other words - he doesn’t have a painterly feeling.

After a time in the right environment the artist succesfully finds his way in art scene. Under the tutelage of the sculptor-monumentalist Prof. Velichko Minekov, he entered the National Academy of Arts, where he became interested in the construction of the human body. Two years later, he deepened his interest in human anatomy and enrolled in Medical University, where he had the opportunity developed his knowledge and abilities.

The more we look into an author's work, the layers of the works we contemplate become more complicated.
Sedlarov is a complex artist, not in terms of assimilating what he presents, but in terms of eclecticism in his plastic expression.

Like any artist, by touching different works and collaborating with different styles, the result leads to building  “estetic taste".
The author, perhaps unconsciously is influenced by Velichko Minekov taking from him and integrating massiveness, generality, architectonics into his sculptures.
Separately, he adjusts the size of his works according to whether the work is intended for an exterior or interior environment.

It reminds of one of the most notable surrealists, Alberto Giacometti, because in his works there is a sense of that characteristic dynamism, a surreal nuance mixed with an enigmatic sense of the human condition.
At the same time, his works are distinguished by a refined minimalism  in which the sense of kineticity is woven due to the dynamics of the figures.

In art of Zhivko Sedlarski the leading position is the Woman as a symbol, energy, form.
It is curious that he integrates the so-called "haute couture" (high fashion).
Interest in fashion is one of the hallmarks of his art.
The fashion shows in Paris, Milan and New York are the source of inspiration for the sculptor, who has so far held two shows in France.
The sculptures are like "inanimate" models, which further shows how collectable Sedlarski is.
In the works, he relies on basic female qualities: tenderness-strength, militancy-delicacy, mystery- distinct beauty.
Perhaps it isn’t by chance that the dualistic feminine essence is emphasized, which becomes even more impressive and alive when it is expressed in the minimalist style characteristic of the 1960s.
Sedlarski creates a symbiosis between different temporal parallels, creating an exquisite eclecticism that at first glance has an accessible message to the viewer, but the longer these sculptures are observed, the more layered the artistic concepts become.
Even in the materials with which he constructs his female figures, manages to preserve that two-sided nature of hardness with softness.
In a number of sculptures, the materials metal, resin, copper, wood, bronze, granite are combined and complement each other.
On the other hand, each material has different plastic possibilities, which leads to a diverse treatment of the form, and this gives an even more pronounced richness to the images, especially when they are located in the same space and correspond with each other.