Emilia Bayer, or Emilia N. Bayer was born May 5, 1934 in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. She studied sculpture and ceramics at the Akademy of Arts in Sofia. Since finishing her studies at the Akademy in 1964 she has worked as a freelance sculptor. She has also taken commissions for works in applied graphics, book design and calligraphic design.
Career
During 1973–1975 Bayer designed work in Bulgaria including 250m² stone reliefs for the new building of the Theatre Sofia in Sofia. The subject was the development of acting in the history of mankind. This work of art is thought to be an exceptionally well turned out synthesis of architecture and sculpture.
In 1975 Bayer moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. In the following decade she took commissions for more than ten larger-than-life sculptures in public parks and buildings. Her main work in Berlin was the commission to design reliefs for the new building of the
Friedrichstadt-Palast
The Friedrichstadt-Palast, also shortened to Palast Berlin, is a revue in the Berlin district of Mitte (district center). The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble. The p ...
theatre, (1982–1984).
[ ] Of the originally planned 12 reliefs only six were realised, but at last only four came true. Afterwards due to the dissident actions of her husband she could not get other commissions; even contracts already given were foreclosed. She could no longer show her works at exhibitions.
When the new politics of the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
administration became clear, the Bayer family applied for emigration visas, which were eventually granted after more than four years of fighting the bureaucracy. These four years of a de facto ban to exhibit and publish any of her works caused an irredeemable break in Bayer's specialty – applied sculpture on buildings. Today she concentrates on the realms of figurative porcelain, oil-pastels and oil paintings.
Important works
* Reliefs on the Friedrichstadt-Palace done in reinforced concrete unique in Europe in regard to depth and detail
* 250m² stone reliefs at the Sofia theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria
* Two stone reliefs at the theatre in
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
* Two fire-baked reliefs terra cotta (ca. 87m² and 20m²) at a public building in Vraza
* Several larger-than life sculptures in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, Berlin, and different towns in Germany and Bulgaria.
Her works are on display in New York, Boston, Seattle, Paris, Hanover, Berlin, Leipzig, Wiesbaden, Munich, Moscow, Warsaw, Sofia; and in museums and collections in Berlin, Sopot (Poland), Faenza (Italy), and Sofia (
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
).
Distinctions
* Distinction for the best work of art at the International Art Exhibition in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, timezone_DST ...
1958.
* Distinction for an excellent piece of art at the International Biennale of Modern Ceramics in
Faenza
Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna.
Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...
(Italy) 1974.
* Decoration "Cyril and Method" (bronze medal) of the Bulgarian state for her life's work 1984.
Literature
Nikolova-Bayer, Emilia: I Maestri Della Ceramica Moderna 1984/The Masters Of Modern Ceramics 1984; edition Faenza Editrice S.p.A. 1984
Torstrasse 111; Lukas Verlag für Kunst- und Geistesgeschichte 2020 ISBN 978-3-86732-366-6
Kunst am Bau in der DDR (Symposium 2020); Deutscher Kunstverlag 2020 ISBN 978-3-422-98606-0
70 Jahre Kunst am Bau; Deutscher Kunstverlag 2020 ISBN 978-3-422-98617-6
References
External links
Standorte von Arbeiten der Bildhauerinwebsite Emilia Bayer
* http://torstrasse111.de/kuenstler/
* http://derarchitektbda.de/die-wandbild-entmuedung/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayer, Emilia
1934 births
Living people
Bulgarian sculptors
Bulgarian emigrants to Germany
20th-century Bulgarian artists
Bulgarian people of German descent
21st-century Bulgarian artists
20th-century sculptors
21st-century sculptors