Penelope Margaret Mackworth-Praed exhibits at the National Art Gallery in Sofia

11/20/2008

The National Art Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria, recently hosted a one-person exhibition of the sculpture of Penelope Margaret Mackworth-Praed, better known to the Franklin community as Margaret Glass, professor of sculpture in the department of visual and communication arts.

The September exhibit, personally curated by Boris Danailov, the Director of the National Gallery in Sofia, was a great success. Entitled “Return to Thrace,” the exhibition was composed of work created over recent years and four new pieces, one of which was an installation designed specifically for the occasion. Mackworth-Praed uses a combination of steel, wood, plexiglass and paints for her creations, leading the Bulgarian media to describe the exhibition as an “ecologically wise lesson that shows that art is possible with any kind of means.”

In January, 2008, Mackworth-Praed received the official invitation to prepare the exhibition from Danailov. He stated, “For the National Art Gallery in Sofia the opening of an exhibition such as the one by Penelope Margaret Mackworth-Praed, is of great significance.” Emphasizing the most important reason for this unique event in the series of visiting artists from other countries, he pointed out, “This particular exhibition gives us a direct vision into a situation that occurs rarely during exhibitions in Bulgaria, namely the interaction between the artist and nature.”

“Return to Thrace” was the initial exhibition of a contemporary art series that will be hosted by the National Gallery in Sofia. In the catalogue for this opening exhibition, Mackworth-Praed is described as “one of the few modern artists who is able to dedicate herself to the development of sensitivity.”

Commenting on her experience in Sofia, Mackworth-Praed said, “I was amazed by the generosity, kindness and help from all the people working at the gallery because to put up this type of installation takes very many hours. This impression extends to the many people I met on the streets of Sofia who were warm and welcoming. I felt incredibly honored, as a Ticinese by adoption, to be given this one-person show by the country of Bulgaria.”

Mackworth-Praed, who has studied at Wimbledon, Falmouth and Epsom Schools of Art and Design, has had various one-person and many group exhibitions throughout Europe. Her works can be seen in public exhibits and museum collections in Switzerland, Germany and now Bulgaria; she also has works in private collections in Canada, France, Japan, Italy and the United States.

Mackworth-Praed would like to thank Antoni and Violeta Naoumov, and Franklin College student Yana Dzhikova for their wonderful efforts and support.

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