An exhibition of paintings and graphic art by Burgas artist Stoyan Tsanev (1946–2019) opened this evening at the Petko Zadgorski Art Gallery in Burgas. It marks 80 years since his birth. The works come from different periods of his career.

The gallery said last Friday that the show would open on 6 November in the hall on the first floor.

Where it began: Burgas exhibition marks 80 years since the birth of Stoyan Tsanev

The exhibits include paintings from the collection of the Union of Bulgarian Artists and two portraits of Tsanev by friends of his.

"On the walls around the paintings, you will find scattered thoughts of his, and each visitor can spend a quiet moment with them," said gallery director Andrey Yanev.

Yanev called the show "a truly big event" for the gallery. He said the title was chosen on purpose: the show does not claim to be a full retrospective, and that would take up several floors of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, the National Palace of Culture and many more halls.

The director said the chosen works give each visitor a personal meeting with the artist. Some will go back to their own memories, others will find sides of his art they did not know. The show also shows his artistic language, and how the people around him saw him.

Guests at the opening included local officials, representatives of cultural institutions, the clergy and Burgas's arts community. Yanev said President Iliana Iotova and culture minister Evtim Miloshev sent greetings to the gallery.

Deputy mayor for culture and religious affairs Diana Savateva greeted those present. She said Tsanev's art should be felt, not just looked at. It is "hard to talk about him, because he has to be experienced," she said, adding that his paintings hold many stories, symbols and paths.

Savateva also recalled a Tsanev exhibition at the Kvadrat 500 gallery in Sofia, where she stayed for hours. She called it "something every art lover should give themselves".

She also paid tribute to sculptor Vezhdi Rashidov, with whom she worked for three years while he chaired the culture committee in the National Assembly. She said working with him taught her about cultural processes and about how the field works behind the scenes, out of the public's sight.

Savateva said Rashidov had a special feeling for Tsanev and always spoke of him with reverence. Two or three years ago she gave him the catalogue of an earlier Tsanev show at the Burgas gallery. "However sad we are about great artists of the stature of Tsanev and Vezhdi, there is no death. They are blessed with immortality," she said.

In February, 80 years after the artist's birth, the Prolet gallery in Burgas showed his paintings from private collections. This year there are also shows at the Akademia gallery in Sofia and at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Berlin. Yanev said Tsanev's work has won deserved attention outside Burgas, including interest from galleries in Japan and the Netherlands.