02 Jun Rafi Chehirian – Рафи Шехирян
“Rafi Chehirian” examines the work of a Bulgarian-Armenian artist who made significant contributions to Bulgarian modernism, conceptual art and aesthetics in the mid-1980s. The catalogue has been produced alongside “A Recollection”, a retrospective exhibition—the first since 1987—of the painter, and his wife Galina Chehirian’s work. Born in Bulgaria and graduating from the National Art Academy, Rafi immigrated in 1988 to the U.S., where he died in 2011. One year later, shattered by the unexpected loss, a group of friends produce an anthology of essays, memories and letters about Rafi. Now, to mark the occasion of the exhibition at Contrast Gallery, this catalogue sets Rafi’s paintings and drawings alongside essays by curators Aksiniya Djurova, Filip Zidarov, Rumen Serafimov, and artist Tzvetan Kolev.
