The loss of Ukrainian independence in the summer of 1921 caught Mykhailo Parashchuk in Bulgaria. This would become his second home.

Born in western Ukraine in 1876, Parashchuk received a brilliant art education in Krakow and Vienna, did further specialized study in sculpture in Paris, worked in Rodin’s studio, established his own studio in Munich, where he taught at the academy, and later settled in Lviv and Kiev.

The talented sculptor quickly became a part of the artistic life in Sofia. With an excellent familiarity with artistic styles, and with the craft of the old Austrian and German masters in artistic architectural decoration, the artist became a partner of prominent Bulgarian architects in the construction of iconic buildings in Sofia and throughout the country: the rectorate of Sofia University, the Bulgarian National Bank building, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National Library, the Military Academy, the Courthouse, and many others.

Researching Parashchuk’s archive, Ivo Milev and photographer Stefan Shterev set out on his trail, sometimes getting lost along the way; it led them from Sofia to Varna, Burgas, Ruse, Sliven, Kardzhali, Pazardzhik, Pernik… The fruit of these efforts is the present exhibition, which aims to return Mykhailo Parashchuk to the Bulgarian cultural history to which he belongs.

Organizers: The Ukrainian Embassy in Bulgaria, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski