Fragment and Form: The Aesthetics of Movement

Photographs focusing on color, line, and structure: Elitza Nanova’s artistic work revolves around movement and how its impact and expression can be captured in a static medium. In her first solo exhibition in Bulgaria, Nanova presents abstract photographs in which she explores the diversity of water and its structures, with a particular focus on its transformative properties and reflective surface. Using details from reality and the tools of a documentary medium, the artist develops abstract worlds that open up new perspectives for viewers and explore the possibilities and limits of photography. The images from the series Berlin as a Water Reflection and Water Abstractions enter into dialogue with the artist’s digital collages, in which she combines water structures with dance photography. The 32 works on display can be viewed through May 30 at the exhibition Painterly Photography at the Atizay Gallery in Plovdiv, a vibrant city characterized by numerous modern galleries, combined with Bulgarian Renaissance architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries and ancient archaeological sites. Plovdiv was one of two European Capitals of Culture in 2019.

Elitza Nanova is originally from Sofia and has lived in Berlin for over 40 years. There, she earned a master’s degree in art history and cultural studies from Humboldt University. Her beginnings in photography lie in the documentary field. Through dance photography and experiments with various photographic techniques, she developed her abstract visual language with water as a central element. For the artist, it represents a natural counterpart to the dynamism and transience of dance. Nanova’s dance photography, shaped by her own dance experiences, has so far been published in two photo books, released in 2020 and 2024.

Atizay – Gallery of modern art
Stefan-Verkovich-Str. 3
4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
(+359) 888 26 05 60
[email protected]’
www.atizay.bg

Opening hours:
Weekdays 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Saturdays 11:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Sundays by appointment