D.Gechev Exlibris: Opus List

In recent years the Bulgarian artist Desislav Gechev (°1972) was rewarded in international ex-libris competitions a few times, for example in the one organised by Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago, in which he won the second prize. Those rewards are more than deserved: Gechev’s ex-libris are remarkable works of art, combining stylistic refinement with original imagery.

This article however concentrates on Gechev’s graphic art (and more specifically: on his ex-libris designs). According to Gechev graphic art is a combination of individuality, craftsmanship, artistry and magic. It allows the engraver to present social themes and to illustrate philosophical insights. Furthermore, it is an ideal medium to visualize ideas in detail and it offers the artist the possibility to enter a ‘different’ world. No wonder that he mentions Albin Brunovsky as his favourite graphic artist.

His main themes – as the reader might already have derived from the illustrations accompanying this text – are philosophy, mythology, music and the female nude. His favourite techniques are etching, mezzotint, vernis-mou and aquatint. In his latest ex-libris Gechev usually combines etching with mezzotint.

Since 1998 he has produced more than fifty ex-libris. He calls the design of a bookplate a voyage of discovery, a continual search for the right image for the future owner. In this voyage the study of allegory has a central position: the image should be the externalization of an idea. His opus list mainly shows Bulgarian names, amongst which many libraries and universities, but from 2010 onwards also Western European collectors appear in it, which shows that his work is gaining momentum.

‘Assimilation’ for example (in which a wild beast feeds on beautiful old buildings) is an evaluation of modern architecture; ‘Autumn’ a glorification of the mature woman; ‘The Power of Science’ tells us that science can help man to escape from what the artist calls ‘the valley of the shadows’ and ‘Parable about the humane animals and the people-beasts’ is a reflection on human and animal characteristics and relationships (see Boekmerk 34, 2011, pp. 26-30).

Many Gechev ex-libris are inspired by the Bible. Early examples are a few infamous female characters from the Old Testament (‘Salome’ for Kiril Andreev and ‘Fornicatress’ for Plamen Gospodinov), but also the story of Adam and Eve has been an inspiration, as the bookplate for Joop Sliep shows . The image of the woman as the temptress is very often present in Gechev’s work: usually man is merely a powerless victim who is easily seduced or impressed (‘Temptation’ for Karl Vissers, ). On the other hand, man can also take initiative, driven by his hunting genes (as in ‘Hunt’ for Willem van de Weerd, ).

After being asked by the Dutch collector Willem van de Weerd to do a cycle about the seven deadly sins for seven Dutch collectors , Gechev gladly accepted the proposal. One of the reasons was that both Bosch and Bruegel the Elder have set an impressive example, the first in a painting, the second in a cycle of drawings. The works of painters Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569) have always been an inspiration for Gechev and some kind of guideline for his etchings. Especially the graphic cycle ‘Seven deadly sins’ by Bruegel fills him with admiration and astonishment, not only because it is such a great artistic performance, but also because of its philosophy: the denouncement of human sinfulness.

The symbolism is obvious in each of these seven etchings. In the tradition of late medieval art, the artist uses well-known classical icons to illustrate the sin of the protagonist. Typical for Gechev is the circular contour around the image, formed by trees, branches or shrubbery, which automatically sheds more light on the central scene.

Karl Vissers

Opus List

№	Year of Creation	Title	Owner	Media	Dimensions( in cm)
1	1998	“Venci”	Vencislav Gechev	C3	10,5x8,2
2		“Exlibris Family Ivanovi”	Iovka &Gecho Ivanovi	C3	11x8,5
3	1999	“Eyes”	Galia Metodieva	C7	7x7
4	2001	“Exlibris Fishing”	Ionel Nedialkov	X2	12,5x5,5
5		“Leda and Swan”	Plamen Pavlov	C3	12,5x8,8
6		“The Spring Enters Through The Window”	Ivan Atanasov	C3	12x8,8
7		“Dream-1”	Ivan Atanasov	C3	12,5x7,5
8		“Dream-2”	Ivan Atanasov	C3	12,5x7,5
9	2004	“Temptation”	Yu Xin Gang	C3	7,8x12,8
10		“Exlibris Stanislav Georgiev”	Stanislav Georgiev	C3,X	5,5x5
11	2005	“Serenade-2”	Lefkada 2005	C3	9x12,7
12		“Abductioning Europe,Keeps Ruse In Hand”	Ing.Petar P.Petrov	C3	12,5x8
13		“Meditation”	V.R.	C3	11x12,3
14		“Assistant Of Life”	Dr.Simeonov	C3	10,5x12,4
15		“Triumph Of The Enlightenment”	Dimitar Velikov	C3	13x10
16		“Faces”	Zivodar Dushkov	C3	7,2x8
17		“Mirror”	Zivodar Dushkov	C3	10x7
18	2006	“Parable About The Humane Animals And People-Beasts”	Kiril Andreev	C3	13x12,6
19		“Contention woman”	Goran Pamukov	C3	13x12,7
20		“Vitalization of Stone”	Latcho	C3	13x12,8
21		“Figaro’s Wedding”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2006	C3	13x12,8
22		“Spring wakes trees”	Ivan Atanasov	C3	12,8x12,4
23		“Opera”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2006	C3	12,8x13
24		“Canticle of Canticles-2”	Soncino 2006	C3	13x11,8
25		“Autumn”	Minko Minkov	C3,C7	13x9,6
26	2007	“Music”	Hrisand Hrisandov	C3,C7	11,5x8,7
27		“Bowling”	Raicho Raikov	C3,C7	12,1x10,5
28	2008	“Duel”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2008	C3,C7	12,3x12,5
29		“The Power of Science”	Universitas Studiorum Insubriae 1998-2008	C3,C7	11,5x8,8
30		“Powerguarding Word”	Universitas Studiorum Insubriae 1998-2008	C3,C7	11,5x8,8
31		“Nude”	Plamen Gospodinov	C3,X	10,7x9,7
32		“Light-1”	Provincia di Novara 1859-2009	C3,C7	7,9x6,7
33		“Light-2”	Provincia di Novara 1859-2009	C3,C7	8,3x3,5
34	2009	“The Nest Of Infidelity”	Goran Pamukov	C3,C7	11,3x9,2
35		“The Way”	Arti Grafiche Colombo	C3,C7	12,8x9,3
36		“Autoportrait”	Arti Grafiche Colombo	C3,C7	12,5x9
37		“Assimilation”	Citta di Somma Lombardo-1959-2009	C3,C7	12,9x10,5
38		“Then&Now”	Citta di Somma Lombardo-1959-2009	C3,C7	10,5x11
39		“Flag”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2009		11,8x8,9
40		“Cross”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2009
41	2010	“Salome”	Kiril Andreev	C3,C7	13x9
42		“Fornicatress”	Plamen Gospodinov	C3,C7	12,9x8,8
43		“Temptation”	Karl Vissers	C3,C 7	13x9
44	2011	“Flight”	Venelin Barakov	C3,C7	9x12,5
45		“Hunt”	Willem van de Weerd	C3,C7	9x12,5
46		“Temptation”	Joop Sliep	C3,C7	12x9
47		“The Pouring of Danube”	Venelin Barakov	C3,C7	9x12
48		“The 10-th Muse”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2011	C3,C7	12x9
49		“Dedication”	Biblioteca Bodio Lomnago 2011	C3.C7	12x9
50		“Acedia”	Kaaro Walaardt Sacre	C3,C7	9x12
51		“Superbia”	M.P. de Haas	C3,C7	9x12
52		“Avaritia”	Thea Vogelvanger	C3,C7	9x12
53		“Ira”	Tjalling Vogelvanger	C3,C7	9x12
54		“Invidia”	Cees Lith	C3,C7	9x12
55		“Luxuria”	Willem van de Weerd	C3,C7	9x12
56		“Gula”	Annet Slotboom	C3,C7	9x12
57		“Beyond The Myth Leda”	Willem van de Weerd	C3,C7	12,7x10
58	2012	“Nude”	Tomas Ostermann	X4	12,7x10

D.Gechev Exlibris

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