The title of the exhibition was not chosen by chance. It is connected with the concept of a journey through matter, time and spirit in the world of Ognyan Chitakov, one of the few Bulgarian sculptors who choose stone as their main interlocutor.
Ognyan Chitakov graduated from the National Academy of Arts with a degree in Sculpture under Prof. Krum Damyanov. He has had numerous solo exhibitions, participated in collective international and national sculpture forums. He is the author of a number of works in the public sphere, winner of national awards (Allianz Bulgaria 2010), the award for best artist of the year in the French art platform Singulart for 2023.
Each sculpture from the exhibition „The Path of the Stone“ is a provocation for the next step towards the level of knowledge. Stone has survived millennia. Some rock formations are from before humanity existed. Therefore, in general, the works of Ognyan Chitakov develop the idea of ​​​​the dynamics of travel through time and space. Ognyan speaks to the stone, touches the heart of the material. And this is clearly felt in the structure of the works as an organic swirl, as if an inexhaustible energy lies beneath the surface of the static stone. His works have been defined as a phenomenon in contemporary sculpture. Ognyan Chitakov possesses the rare ability to “hear” what the stone wants to become. He does not impose his will on the material, but partners with it. The result is a sculpture that exudes organicity and authenticity – works that have always seemed untouched by human hands. They possess that monolithic calm in which movement pulses – as if the stone has frozen for just a moment before continuing its eternal journey. The exhibition takes us through the various incarnations of this material – from massive, respectful sculptures to fine wall reliefs, created using his own author’s method of melting the stone to lava. These are not just objects, but forms of thinking that invite us to stand on our own path and discover the original essence of being.