Ivanichka Paneva
Ivanichka Paneva is one of those artists who are in love with the romantic corners of the Bulgarian landscape and architecture of our ancient capital Veliko Tarnovo.
Her landscapes of the latter carry the unique atmosphere and colour of an artist deeply connected to this city, whose rich historical fate lurks in the space that few Bulgarian artists, dazzled by the spark of God’s inspiration, have touched.
Ivanichka Paneva’s paintings act as if we have forgotten what is already known to us, which she then shows to us, seemingly the same, but in a way different, transformed by her brush – the Veliko Tarnovo similar to the amphitheatric decor of the visible, behind which a secret, as if only known to her, is revealed. As if she has given us her eyes to see the familiar in a new way, it is amazing how in landscapes, interiors, terrains, flowers, still-lives – all genres that represent reality, we see this reality transcended, destroyed, and finally re-constructed in her own way, by multitude of colours, tones, halftones and shades. Perhaps spectre, tone, and halftone are metaphors that came to the language of words from music, to describe a painting by Ivanichka Paneva, in which a simple colour becomes a symphony of colours.
Born in 1946 in Veliko Tarnovo, she graduated the “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo in 1968 and became a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists in 1978.
Solo exhibitions in Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo /1976, 1985, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018/; Stara Zagora /1978, 1995, 2000/; Nessebar /2004/; Dimitrovgrad /1995, 2000, 2017/; Ruse /2001/; Lovech /2010/; Dryanovo /2010/; Shabla /2011/; Varna /2011/; Plovdiv /2017, 2018/; Sofia /1986, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2014/; Velingrad /2019/
Solo exhibitions abroad: The United Kingdom – London /1980, 2016/; Cyprus – Nicosia /1987/; Germany – Munster /1992/; Hamelburg /1993, 2002/; Musingen /1996/; Netherlands – Alkmaar /2002/; Croatia – Grosnian /2005/; Italy – Cortona /2010/; Hungary – Budapest /2007, 2015/; Turkey – Istanbul /2011/; Azerbaijan – Baku /2019/
2006 – Winner of the Veliko Tarnovo Award.
International salons for innovation: East West Euro Intellect /1998/ – gold medal.
Her works can be seen in the National Art Gallery, almost all the regional art galleries in Bulgaria and in many private collections in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Italy France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, USA and other countries.