PROF. MARIN VURBANOV - Innovator in Artistic Textiles
"Marin Varbanov was born on September 20, 1932 in Oryahovo. In 1951 he was admitted to the Sofia Academy of Arts and studied under prof. Penkov. He continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, majoring in decorative textiles and tapestry under Prof. Chai Fei. Since 1960 he has been a lecturer at the Institute of Fine Arts "N. Pavlovich", Sofia - now the Academy of Arts. In 1967 he became an associate professor of textiles, in 1981 he received the scientific title of professor. He created the specialty "Textiles" at the academy, and later the tapestry section at the University of New South, Sydney - Australia. In 1986 he founded the Institute of Contemporary Textiles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, China, which bears his name. He participated in exhibitions in Paris, China, Brussels, Prague, Moscow, Berlin, Warsaw, Lausanne, Washington, etc.
Marin Varbanov is a champion of the use of natural materials in art, of preserving the Bulgarian spirit and tradition, of combining ancient traditions with a new vision.
His work follows a continuous development. From the wall carpet and tapestry art, his ideas turn to soft sculpture to reach the projects of large installations. His well-known works are the tapestries "Golden Age" and "Ancient Bulgaria", the wall carpet "Disappearance" (National Gallery Sofia) the textile sculptures "Columns", "Silver", etc.
The work "Chan" is located in the Oryahovo History Museum. In addition to private collections, the works of Marin Varbanov are kept in many galleries in France, China, Japan and the United States. In Bulgaria, his works can be seen in a number of public places, such as "1300 years of Bulgaria" in the National Palace of Culture - Sofia , "Alafrangi" in Boyana residence.
"ART IS NOT ONLY THE SKILL, TALENT AND VIRTUOSO ENTERTAINMENT OF ITS MASTER, BUT IT IS ABOVE ALL AN IDEA - A THOUGHT IN MOTION."
Three times - in 1964, 1967 and 1974 - Marin Varbanov received a national award for art. He was awarded the Order of Cyril and Methodius - 2nd degree in 1972. He died in Beijing in 1989.
In the gallery of Ekimdzhiev House we can see one of the most famous works of prof. Marin Varbanov - "Khlopatar" 140 x 190 cm, 1979.
The exhibition is realized under the project of the Oryahovo History Museum, funded by the America for Bulgaria Foundation with the support of Nadia Zaharieva - Program Director at the Foundation. The project idea was implemented by the curator Ivo Milev from the National Gallery in Sofia, Mario Stoynov and Vladislav Iliev from Studio Formatic. Materials provided by Marin Varbanov's daughter and son - Boryana Varbanova and Fenix Varbanov, as well as by the George Papazov Gallery - Yambol.