ArtfromBulgaria.com
Ludmil Bonev
One could easily distinguish the sculptor Ludmil Bonev from the people surrounding him even if
they have made his acquaintance only recently - one will be struck anew by his handsome manly
bearing, his clear diction and self-confidence, not to mention his vigorous though controlled
temper. People like him are destined to be like that in everything they undertake and when they
are artists, in their aesthetical experimetns. They are not apt to half-smiles, uncertain phrases or
suppressed wishes before the forbidden fruit the way they shun fear of the vicissitudes of
creation or the comfort of compromise plastic thinking. With Bonev the traits of this artistic
presence become all the more tangible through the potential of his confident hand. When looking
at "Medusa", "Dance", "Moon", "Rooster" or "Sun" we fall under the Impression that he has
been sculpturing such forms for an eternity; that for him these are mastered symbols of infinity
which sets us free of the quells of daily routine. There is neither good nor evil. There is an
obscurity that i,s equally bound to contemplative calm and naked warriedness, "Fish", "Medusa",
"Bird" or "Europe" these arc not preriching images. They are not moral forewarn Ings either,
though they might bring to our minds the Images of "The Apocalypse" of St. John the Evangelist.
These represent the accomplished potentialities of the imagination to discover in these works, or
in "Cathedral", or In "Victory", the semantic codes of creation and destruction. Finally, we
perceive them as a powerful touch of creative will to mythological signs inaccessible for reason.
This is the reason why most of them bring us back from infinity to our intimate thoughts. We do
not ask ourselves the question where they started off. In "Moon", "Cathedral" or "Dance"
Bonev is true to his own self he is sure in doing what he wants and confident of being able to
attain his wish, for he has mastered the magic of line, form and texture. And perhaps most of all
because he is apt to carry on In a fruitful and manly fashion the dialogue with time.
Prof. Atanas Bozhkov