On October 29, 2026 at 17:30 in Dobrich Art Gallery begins the aquarelle exhibition “Sun Ray in Cool Water” by Milena Aljabari. The Dobrich artist presents 39 aquarelle canvases painted during the last year. The exposition treats the watercolor as a process that captures the multifaceted impact of water in which the breaking down of sunlight releases color and strips states of concrete form.
The art critic Hristi Stoilcheva says about the exposition:
“Every exhibition is a meeting. Meeting with the artist sharing her world with the public and shortly separating the viewer from the noise of the environment. Milena Aljabari’s watercolors are an impression of the silent contemplation.
Every time we delve into the unique world of the artist, we ask ourselves what he has “selected” for us, where he has directed his focus and how has transformed the reality in his works. Milena carries us over in the poetic dimensions of the landscape and her aquarelles give us enough space to finish the picture. The painting, in general, is considered a lyrical and emotional comparing to the drawing and graphic, which are more logical and could be defined as prose. The watercolor technique goes even further with its tenderness and diffuseness. The works presented here could be compared with the most concise poetic expression – haiku. I say this deliberately, as the overall impact of the exhibition resonates with Eastern aesthetics with its laconic mode of expression and the artist’s exceptional mastery in “distilling” reality and leaving only the essential.
On other hand Milena’s works remind of the “fast brush” and the gesture of the contemporary neoimpressionism and abstract impressionism. In the artist’s work, however, there are no “loud” colors and details. Her painting is an art of the compound semitone. Any artist who has worked with watercolors knows how difficult it is to create delicate semitones from the vivid colors on the palette—much more difficult than with any other medium.
Ever since the aquarelle technique has emancipated itself and gained independence, the artists tend to follow on of the polar approaches – detailed photo realism or contours merging abstractionism. The artist gravitates toward the second category but gives us clear visual references. The wet-on-wet technique is brought to exceptional mastery and the artist possesses the courage and skills to give the water a freedom of action – to become and active participant in the creative process.
In Milena’s balanced compositions predominates a sense of tranquility, in which we feel the breath of the wind and hear the river ripple. And this is a wonderful place, where we can retreat in solitude and find the balance within.”
Milena Aldjabari was born on September 1971 in Dobrich. Graduated from VTU “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” (1995) in “Painting” and “Fine Arts Pedagogy”. From 2014 to 2021 works as a museum pedagogue in Dobrich Art Gallery, where her work was highly valued, earning her nominations as well as prestigious individual and group awards for the educational programs and initiatives together with the gallery team. Among them is the Award of the Bulgarian National Assembly within the “The school in the museum, the museum in the school” Program. Since 2022 is a Chef curator in Dobrich Art Gallery, as well as an active organizer and participants in “Paper” pein airs. Has 4 solo exhibitions together with her husband, the graphic artist Hassan Ali Aljabari, and participations in numerous joint national and regional exhibitions.