Yova Raevska (1918-2000)

Yova Raevska’s works are currently on display as part of the exhibition “Modernism and Avant-Garde: The Bulgarian Perspective.  Collection of Nicholay Nedelchev”.  A student of Stoyan Raynov, Raevska championed the traditions of early Bulgarian modernism and used her ceramic pieces to showcase them in an original way.

Raevska worked in both vessel and monumental ceramics, and her pieces are characterized by her focus on the modern interpretation of traditional forms and motifs.  Researcher, educator, and author, Raevska made many important contributions to ceramics. Her work pushed the boundaries on the ceramic form, and her bold experimentation reflected the gradual modernization taking place in Bulgaria at the time: experiments with lines, shapes and colors with emphasis on material, technique and process are clearly evident in her work.

Through her work, Yova Raevska shared the utopian ideas of modernism and defended the great aim of art as a driver of societal progress.  Her lasting legacy are these ceramic art pieces – each an example of the overflowing of ideas and a bearer of the best traditions of Bulgarian modernism.

1941 graduates with distinction from Academy of Arts, Sofia, specialty Ceramics, under Professor Stoyan Raynov

1948 is among founding members of the Bulgarian Folk Art Cooperative

1958-1962 working in the Center for New Products and Fashion, Head of Department “Porcelain, Pottery and Souvenirs.”

1965 is Associate Professor at The Institute for Art Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

1968 – 1974 Deputy Director of Art Issues and First Director of the Creative Experimental Model of the Creative Fund of the Union of Bulgarian Artists (UBA).

Throughout her life, Raevska organized dozens of solo exhibitions of her work in Sofia, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv and Troyan.

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