opening: June 9, Tuesday, 6:00 PM

The exhibition „Italian art under the stone slates XX – XXI century“ unveils a rich collection born from the encounter between two collectors from Italy and Bulgaria, Luigi Martini and Georgi Zabchev. One was born in Ravenna, a city that still preserves the memory of Justinian Byzantium and the splendor of its mosaics in the churches from the V to the VII century, while the other was raised under the roof tiles, the stone plates of the old houses in Kovachevitsa, which have preserved the functional aesthetics and traditions of our ancestors. Despite their diverse interests, they are united by collecting, a passion that creates bridges between nations, sustained not only institutionally but also through friendship.

Comprising numerous works by painters and sculptors from European and Bulgarian art, the core of the foreign collection of Georgi and Vanya Zabchevi is that of Luigi Martini and his daughter Monnalisa, which was later significantly enriched. It dominates the current exhibition, where figurative painting prevails.

The selection of over 200 works by 40 Italian authors is distributed across three halls.

Hall 1A features 11 artists: Medardo Rosso, Giorgio de Chirico, Franco Ferrari, Renzo Vespignani, Jaber Alwan, Nunzio Bibbò, Ennio Calabria, Virgilio Guzzi, Renato Guttuso, Assen Peikov, and Boris Georgiev. The selection is based on the principle of juxtaposition, allowing artists of different styles, techniques, and mediums to enter into a dialogue with each other and with themselves.

Hall 1B is dedicated to figurative art, showcasing Mario Sironi, Lucio Fontana, Ugo Attardi, Enrico Baj, Pietro Cascella, Emilio Greco, Piero Guccione, Giacomo Manzù, Edolo Masci, Maddalena Mauri, Saro Mirabella, Zoran Mušič, Fausto Pirandello, Orfeo Tamburi, Nanni Tedeschi, and Mario Schifano. This section includes followers of figurative painting from the 1940s to the beginning of the XXI century. The selection does not claim to present an exhaustive picture of development in a country where the affinity for figurative art has been rooted for millennia. It offers the most comprehensive display of artists from the „Il Pro e Il Contro“ (For and Against) group, whose work is fundamentally centered on the human figure and the connection between life and art.

Hall 1C is dedicated to abstract art, featuring Enrico Accatino, Vasco Bendini, Eugenio Carmi, Nicola Carrino, Piero Dorazio, Georgina Lates, Umberto Mastroianni, Gastone Novelli, Gio Pomodoro, Emilio Scanavino, Guido Strazza, and Emilio Vedova. Abstract artists in Italy are numerous, so those included in the exhibition should be seen as an opening step in presenting this movement, which will be expanded upon in the coming years. Broadly speaking, abstract art in Italy is shaped by a continuous dialogue between European influence and local specificities, ranging from the surrealist approach in the 1930s to the freer forms after the Second World War, beginning with Informalism (Art Informel).

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About the curators

Aksinia Dzhurova is a professor and holds a Ph.D. in art history, specializing in medieval and contemporary art.

Luigi Martini is a cultural advocate for Arci—the Italian Association for Leisure and Culture.

Luigi Martini and Axinia Džurova are the authors of a three-volume publication dedicated to the Zabchevi Collection (2023, 2025, and 2026).

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The exhibition in 1A Hall will be open until July 23; the exhibitions in 1B and 1C Halls will be on display until July 9.

Official exhibition website: www.podtiklite.com

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Еxhibition Team:
Axinia Džurova and Luigi Martini – Curators
Plamen Petrov and Ramona Dimova – Technical Assistants
Natalia Lenz – Exhibition Design
Eva Stoilova – Web Design
Sparks.Bg – Video Mapping
Tsvetan Nikolov – Sculptor
Kalina Dimitrova – Graphic Designer
Louise Genova – Proofreading and Translation
Dynacor – Technical Equipment

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The exhibition is organized by the Zabchevi Collection in partnership with the Union of Bulgarian Artists and the Union of Collectors in Bulgaria.