The exhibition “The female ruler of Clay” of the Regional History Museum in Razgrad, dedicated to the work of ceramist Eli Nedelcheva, is arranged in the Museum of Traditional Crafts and Applied Arts in Troyan.

The author and curator is Prof. Rositsa Angelova PhD, head of the department of “New and Recent History” at the RHM – Razgrad.

“For me, Eli Nedelcheva found her peace with an exhibition by her and for her in Troyan. She grew up in Razgrad, but continued to study and learn from everyone among famous master potters. She is the favorite student of the well-known master potter from Busintsi Petar Gigov. She “steals”, schooling the craft right here and, having returned to Razgrad again, in her studio Eli Nedelcheva reveals her true talent – she manages to turn clay not into material, but into spirit, into memory, into tradition. She walks, looks for clay, mixes, processes until she finds that thread in the clay that will allow her to sculpt the unique forms and drawings, for which experts are categorical that master Eli Nedelcheva does not replicate her works, but only makes unique, deeply memorable ones with their own character”, said Prof. Rositsa Angelova at the opening of the exhibition.

In her words, there is nothing better than having the female ruler of clay, Eli Nedelcheva, with her exhibition among her own, among the masters in Troyan – at the Museum of Traditional Crafts and Applied Arts.

“Eli Nedelcheva was not only a unique artist, but also a person with a very, very good soul.

It was not easy for us in Razgrad to collect even a small part of her work, and I am truly happy that together with the National Exhibition of Arts and Crafts in Oreshak we managed to complete this exhibition, which we can truly be proud of.

For us – museum specialists, the most important thing is to preserve local memory as part of the national memory. In this case, it turned out that Eli Nedelcheva can unite Razgrad and Troyan. For me, it is extremely emotional to be present at such an event: a presentation of talent, of an artist – a bearer of local, but also national memory”, shared the director of RHM – Razgrad Tanya Todorova.

The exhibition in Troyan includes works and information boards from and for different creative periods of Eli Nedelcheva. Over 55 exhibits are presented, including ceramic works from the funds of RHM – Razgrad, as well as vessels provided by the National Exhibition of Arts and Crafts in Oreshak. With them, Eli Nedelcheva has participated in a number of exhibitions of arts and crafts. “The master of clay leaves this world early, but leaves behind memorable ceramics with a rich variety of forms and techniques”, noted Nina Dimitrova from the Museum of Crafts.

The exhibition will remain and can be viewed in Troyan until the beginning of December.

You can see more photos on the Facebook page of the Regional History Museum:
https://www.facebook.com/regionalhistorymuseumrazgrad/