Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova

Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova graduated from the Art Academy in Sofia. For a time she devoted herself to painting and stage design. It was about 1995 that she appeared on the alternative art scene with sculptures and installations of hand-made paper. The artist is well-known for her ability of “catching", and reproducing the most delicate, often invisible states, of objects, people, and human relationships. Her talent to perceive what the others cannot see, to “draw out" nuances from a daily situation, or from the most ordinary event, proves her as one of the most sensitive contemporary artists.

During the years Lyahova has been exploring various materials, chosen according to each particular project of hers - paper, sheet-iron, nails, spoons, soap, sand, ice, ice-cream, sugar-floss. Recently, Lyahova has been frequently using the camera in her constant effort of catching and “fixing" the things that slip out of the artist's hand.

Among her most important solo exhibitions are: „Frames“, Sofia City Art Gallery, 2013; “eco stories", The warehouse, Sofia, 2011; Globally and on a Long-term Basis the Situation Is Positive, Sofia City Art Gallery, 2009, Moderate Optimism, 6 September Street, No.9, Sofia, 2008; Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Centre for Contemporary Art, Pancevo, Serbia, 2008; The Lions of Sofia, Artists' Association fabs, Warsaw, Poland, 2006 and the Goethe Institute, Sofia, 2005; Vanitas, Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, 2004. She is the winner of the Gaudenz B. Ruf Award for 2009.