College of Telecommunications and Postal Services
Mosaic, stone, 60 sq. m, late 1970s
This titleless mosaic adorns an entire wall inside the lobby of the College of Telecommunications and Postal Services in Sofia. Mural and monumental arts flourished in Bulgaria in the latter half of the 1970s. The works grew in size, often using up the entire area set aside by architects for decoration. Sokerova’s mosaic is a good case in point of this landmark principle. The composition revolves around a prominent diagonal, with a central figure – an allegory of technological progress – positioned alongside. Several carrier pigeons – traditional symbols of communication – are depicted below it. On the whole, the shapes are amorphous, barely legible, merging with the panel’s background. A set of diagonally oriented, variously coloured stripes, rhythmically coordinating with the central axis of the composition, are the only dominant element. The colour palette is spare: white, grey and ochre. There are no strong contrasts, no conceptual or formal accents. The absence of strong structure, rhythm or geometry accounts for the mosaic’s discrete, yet dominant presence. The technical execution is superior.
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Elena Sokerova (1944-1999)
Elena Sokerova
Photo: family archive
Elena Sokerova was born in 1944 in the town of Devin, but she has resided in Sofia from early childhood. She completed her education at Sofia’s Technical School for Ceramics and Glass. In 1969, she graduated with a degree in painting from the studio of Professor Iliya Petrov at the National Academy of Art in Sofia (then called the “High institute for fine arts “Nikolai Pavlovich”). She was a member of the “Painting” section in the Union of Bulgarian Artists (UBA).
Beginning in 1970, Sokerova actively participated in both national and international group exhibitions. Some notable milestones include her participation in collective exhibitions in Munich in 1985 and Erfurt in 1989 and in a representative exhibition in Moscow, Warsaw, Berlin, and Budapest in 1990. She also took part in a painting festival in Cannes-sur-Mer in 1992. In 1982, she received an award from the OHI (General Art Exhibition) in Veliko Tarnovo for her artwork titled “The Iconographer”.
Elena Sokerova worked in the fields of painting, ceramics, and monumental painting. She lived in Sofia and briefly in Lovech with her husband, the artist Theofan Sokerov. She passed away in Sofia in 1999.
