Mosaic decoration, “The Cube” cafe
20 sq. m, 2000
This exterior mosaic decorates the entrance of The Cube, a cafe in central Sofia. It is a free interpretation of form whose only guide is the architectural shape of the building. Using an expressive approach, Monica Popova aims at attracting attention and initiating active communication [with the viewer] by combining elements of varied shape, colour and texture. The work exemplifies her use of expressiveness, movement and provocation to establish a dynamic relationship with the work’s surroundings, including the viewer. The mosaic remains open to both, while blurring the boundaries between monumental and painterly.
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Monika Popova (1968)
Monika Popova
Photo: personal archive
Monika Popova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1968. She graduated from the National Academy of Art in Sofia (then called the “High institute for fine arts “Nikolai Pavlovich”) in 1996 and specialized in ceramics” under the mentorship of Professor Krasimir Dzhidrov. She has been a lecturer at New Bulgarian University since 2000 and in 2010 became an associate professor in the Department of Fine Arts there. She was promoted to full professor in 2021.
In 2014, Popova earned her doctoral degree in Egyptology from NBU with a dissertation entitled “Sculpture during the Time of the Theban Kings of the 12th and 18th Dynasties.” She has been a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists since 1996 and a member of the Bulgarian Institute of Egyptology since 2009.
Popova founded a specialization in ceramics and porcelain in the Department of Fine Arts at NBU in 2006. She is an exceptionally active artist with over 40 solo exhibitions and more than 100 participations in group exhibitions. To celebrate her 50th birthday, Monika Popova held three consecutive exhibitions featuring her paintings (at the “Red Dot” Gallery), ceramics (at the “Arosita” Gallery), and drawings (at the “Art Alley” Gallery).
She underwent specialized training abroad at institutions such as the “Cité Des Arts” in Paris (1996 and 2019), the Kunstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany (2011), and GEDOK in Munich (2015).
Popova has received numerous awards and honors, including a nomination for an exceptional contribution to the annual National Painting Award “Vladimir Dimitrov – The Master” for 2012, a nomination and participation in two rounds of the “Allianz” Contemporary Art Competition in Bulgaria in 2012, a competition and specialization at the “Kunstlerhaus” Arts Center in Schwandorf, Germany in 2011, the First Prize for exterior sculpture “Hands of Verses” at the “Sea of Forms” plein-air event in Golden Sands in 2002, and the First Prize for a young author from the “St. Cyril and Methodius” Foundation in 2002.
Popova’s work spans various artistic mediums, including painting, graphics, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, and unconventional forms of art.
