Latchezar Boyadjiev is a Bulgarian sculptor who lives in the San Francisco Bay area. One of his works, called Angels, was admired so much by Hillary Clinton that it founds its way to the White House. He studied glass sculpture under the renowned Czech professor Stanislav Libensky, so he fell in love with glass as the only material to work with once and for all. He defected to the US in 1986 and has since made San Francisco his home. It’s difficult to enumerate all the awards he has received, among which figure the Award of Excellence of the Habitat Galleries in Michigan. It’s even more difficult to enumerate his solo exhibitions; they range from Cleveland, Ohio, to Toronto in Canada, from Hamburg in Germany to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His works have travelled across the world in selected group exhibitions covering much of Europe and on to China and Japan. Many of his works form part of permanent collections in reputable museums across the US and Canada, through Europe, South America, Asia and Australia.
We’re sitting on a bench outside the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in the prime of spring with all the havoc of the heavy traffic which effectively muffled the twittering birds. Latchezar is a very spontaneous guy who does not put on airs and is very down-to-earth. I’m testing the ground cautiously, trying not to be too provocative or too indiscreet.
What urged you to go back to the start of your creative journey, bearing in mind all your commissions in the US?
I did it for sentimental reasons, mainly because I started here as a student at the National Academy of Arts. My father was a photographer and he was at the centre of the art scene of the time. So, I grew up in that atmosphere, which had a tremendous impact on my development as a would-be artist. When I returned here, after I graduated in Prague in 1986, I realised there was no freedom of expression whatsoever. So, a Czech friend and colleague wrote to me “Why don’t you come to San Francisco?” And off I went with two suitcases and a bundle of dreams.
Was it much harder to assert yourself as an artist there just because you were a foreigner?
On the whole, Americans are very open. So if you are persistent in pursuing your goals, you can make it. At first I worked for three years at a studio, just with my hands – cutting, grinding and polishing glass for art objects. But, after work, I could use the studio to do my own stuff.
What have been the highlights of your return?
Oh, definitely meeting the people I haven’t seen for a long time. Svetlin Roussev, my teacher from the National Academy of Arts, opened the exhibition and said some very insightful words about my work. My deep motivation in doing this exhibition in Sofia was to pay tribute to my father who helped me discover the artist within myself.
Are you planning to exhibit somewhere else round the world?
Yes, in China, during the Olympic year. I want to return to the Asian markets. I have already been in Japan twice. It’s a challenge to face up to a completely different artistic sensibility and tradition. I think there is something very exquisite and spiritual about your work that will probably appeal to Asian cultures. I can’t wait to go there. It’s an adventure I’m looking forward to.
There is a distinctive feature, uniting all your work – a dynamic energetic quality spiralling upwards, as if striving to reach the skies. It provokes a peculiar sense of spiritual urge within the viewer. For an instant his soul seems to take to an exhilarating flight.
It’s God’s gift to be a kind of a mediator between earthly things and the parallel spiritual worlds, all around us. If I manage to make people feel a spiritual dimension to their existence, I have fulfilled my mission.
There is a luminosity radiating from your sculptures. Does it have anything to do with your personal religious experience?
It all comes from God and it takes root in my imagination. All my work is a celebration of God and the mystery of Creation. Sculpture is like music in space and for me the best expression of my voice is the combination of monochromatic colour with shapes, moulded in glass.
Recently you have been returning here more often. Every summer you and your family return to your cottage in Balchik on the Black Sea. What drives you back to your native land?
With advancing age, this sense of belonging grows stronger and stronger. Bulgaria has changed a lot, in some respects for the better. You can express yourself freely, without being punished for it. It is much more part of the global cultural village.
Are you planning a show somewhere else in Europe?
Probably in Amsterdam, again towards the end of the year. I love it there because it is definitely one of the artistic capitals of Europe. But, actually, I want to expand to more countries – like China, Indonesia, South Korea, etc. I’m lucky to feel a citizen of the world.
Do you listen to music while you draw in pencil and charcoal?
I listen to music all the time, from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. Especially while I’m at work. I mostly listen to classical music, but at times to jazz or Latino. It depends on what music agrees with my specific vision and mood.
How much time do you devote to your family? You’re a proud father of three boys and a girl.
I spend a substantial part of my time with my family. I try to pass on to my children the values I have grown up with, the values that come from my parents, especially my father. I try to teach them to work hard, to be honest and truthful. I tell them to do everything to the best of their abilities and not necessarily to expect an immediate return. I’m telling them that sooner or later, it will come back to you. I think my personal example matters a lot. So, to be a parent involves a huge responsibility.
Are you optimistic about the future of mankind, bearing in mind the pile of global problems on the threshold of the 21st century?
Yes, I’m fairly optimistic. There are no problems, only solutions. Solutions to be found with the help of science and technology. Mankind will be around for a long time.
Ending my working day on a bright note, I plunged into the traffic nightmare and headed home. All the time I had the feeling I was hovering above the fumes and horns, probably because I’d been in touch with a truly creative spirit. A person who is genuine and level-headed and has none of the affectations of a particular breed of artists who seem to always pose for posterity.
Latchezar Boyadjiev was born in Sofia in 1959. He attended the ceramic studio at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in 1979, then the Academy of Applied Arts’ glass studio with professor Stanislav Libensky in Prague between 1980 and 1985. In 1986 he moved to the United States. His awards include the Jurors’ Award of Excellence and three successive Annual International Glass Invitationals between 2004 and 2006. Boyadjiev’s work has been exhibited at the Naples Museum of Arts, the Museum of Applied Arts in Prague, the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, as well as at the White House and private collections in the USA, Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. He currently lives and works in California.
