Genko Genkov

Genko Genkov was born on February 1, 1923 in the village of Choba, near Brezovo. He grew up in Burgas.
He graduated from the Semi-Classical High School in Burgas. In 1948 he graduated from the Academy of Arts in Sofia under Prof. Dechko Uzunov. His first solo exhibition was in 1965, and in 1973 a retrospective exhibition was organized on the occasion of his 50th anniversary. Since 1972 he has been a recipient of the Order of Cyril and Methodius, 3rd degree. His penultimate solo exhibition was in 1993, and the last in 2006.
He died on March 3, 2006.
Genko creates mainly landscapes, which are distinguished by a characteristic author's style - bright colors and relief surfaces. In the early years of his work, the artist showed a preference for a darker color scheme. His landscapes feature images of people and animals. A tree, a house, a mountain or a path in nature serve as the compositional center of his paintings. Genko Genkov prefers to paint from nature, often recreating Sofia neighborhoods or the outskirts of the villages of Rudartsi and Dragoil.
Over the years, the artist has experimented with different approaches and techniques. In the 1970s, he developed the possibilities of different materials, treating oil paint like watercolor, treating the surface with sand or replacing the brush with a knife. In the 1990s, he used pigments reminiscent of ceramic glaze. Echoes of the art of Post-Impressionism and Fauvism can be found in his work.