Club Natalie
38 Gourko Str, Sofia
Tel: 02/ 980 76 03
[galleria_natali@abv.bg]
Open: Mon-Sat
10.30 to 19.00

Club Natalie caught my eye several years ago, as it used to attract several types of visitors and artists to its three venues: the gallery, the cafe and the boutique.
The gallery and the boutique still exist; the cafe, however, is no longer part of the club. It was transferred to other owners, who no longer hold exhibitions of photographs, caricatures or fine art for a younger audience, as was the case when it was part of Club Natalie.

The boutique and gallery, reached after climbing the common staircase to the three venues, are, however, still operating and attracting various types of connoisseurs.
Gallery keeper and owner Sevdalin Genov said that the boutique Natalie was the first of its kind, selling originally designed elegant clothing, in Sofia when it opened 30 years ago. His wife, fashion designer Natalie Genova, opened the boutique at that time as a state shop, but now it is one of several haute couture venues in Sofia.

Genova produces various types of formal, evening and prom gowns, and only from natural materials. She also sells dresses of hand-painted silk, as well as colourful scarves hand-painted by her and by other Bulgarian artists. The designer also shows her clothes at fashion reviews about once a year, and in addition to Sofia, she has had fashion shows in Paris, Stockholm, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw and Vienna.

Clothing prices vary from about 300 to about 800 leva, at least for those I could see. Part of Genova’s story is that she has patented her typical style of using fabric collages for the clothing.

Various types of jewellery are available at the boutique, hand-made by different Bulgarian artists.

The next-door gallery typically exhibits contemporary Bulgarian art, which makes up 90 per cent of what is currently there. Visitors can see and buy a few more historic pieces and paintings by foreign artists. Genov is showing two works by contemporary Russian painter Mihail Chemiakin, who, according to the gallerist, is the “new Picasso” and is among top 10 contemporary world artists. His paintings are sold at Natalie for about 5000 leva, but in Genov’s words, their price on the world market is seven to eight times higher.

Natalie offers paintings and sculptures by both local and foreign artists at prices between 200 and 10 000 leva. The most expensive piece there at the moment is by Bulgarian painter Nikola Manev, who works in Paris.

Between 150 and 200 local painters have had the chance to show their artwork in the gallery during the 14 years of its existence. Currently, there is a group exhibition by about 30 people, which is colourful and includes various styles. However, Genov also holds individual exhibitions and he did not miss the chance to announce the opening of the next one on May 14, which will be of one of my favourite local painters – Rossen “Roshpaka” Rashev, who creates in an art naif style.

An individual exhibition at Natalie usually lasts between two and three weeks and the painters do not pay rent: Genov and the artists agree on a percentage from the works sold during the exhibition. He says that he and his wife earn their living only from their art exhibition spaces and such is their business. So, he says, both his family and the artists who exhibit at the gallery have to be satisfied with the amounts they earn.

Genov often travels around the country to search for gifted painters from other Bulgarian cities. Sometimes Natalie shows artworks by students of the National Academy of Arts as well.

The gallery is also a venue for live music performances.

One thing I noticed right after entering the building for the interview were the books that were arranged right next to the window. Genov says that his real profession is as a poet; at the gallery her sells his own and also other books, “good books” by Bulgarian writers, poets and caricaturists. This is his passion, he says.

Genov’s daughter, who graduated with a degree in culture studies, also works at Club Natalie. She is currently less often at the gallery, as she is now caring for the newest member of the Genov family, her infant daughter.

For The Sofia Echo’s other venue reviews, please see sofiaecho.com/venue-review