Plovdiv 

Curator: This painting, entitled "Plovdiv" by Mana Parpulova, captures a striking urban scene, likely a slice of daily life in that city. The artist primarily worked with oil paints, as we can see from the textures on the canvas. What's your initial take on this work? Editor: It's visually quite jarring, almost deliberately unsettling. The color choices are bold to the point of being garish, especially that aggressively teal building. It’s balanced somewhat by the texture; that rough application of paint creates a pleasing contrast. Curator: I am intrigued by that teal structure; in many traditions, green or blue signifies growth, harmony, or even healing, though the precise shade does alter that message, doesn't it? In this setting, juxtaposed with older, more traditional buildings, it could represent renewal in an ancient space. The red near its base may also be a potent symbol related to cultural continuity or revolution depending on how you interpret the historical context. Editor: It could just be clashing colors used for effect. It's also not a traditional cityscape: the perspective is warped, and the forms are simplified almost to the point of abstraction. I see that the oil paint application almost takes on a life of its own here. Notice those heavily worked surfaces. Is this perhaps exploring some deeper cultural anxieties about representation, identity, and reality within the post-Soviet bloc? Curator: Anxieties about representation resonate deeply here. If this piece evokes a place such as Plovdiv, the city is layered with visible Roman, Ottoman, and Bulgarian histories. How does one authentically portray a place so laden with different, often conflicting meanings? Parpulova maybe asking how to remain tethered to cultural memory while building something utterly new? Editor: That's astute. If you see that graffiti or the figures interacting in the foreground – all these elements are positioned in this interesting composition that lacks perspective. But you’ve opened up a compelling reading there around that cultural layering in Plovdiv. Curator: These sorts of compositions also remind us how symbols change. What might be one thing now may stand for something entirely different in fifty or a hundred years. Editor: Exactly! A single interpretation boxes the artwork into just one meaning when art continues to be generative through various times. Curator: Looking closer, Parpulova provides an engaging scene to contemplate for how we build our worlds. Editor: And that consideration extends past formal technique; this composition makes room for its layered pasts.