“The kind of person I am, I do not take long to complete an artwork, as long-term or phased projects are not my thing. I finish a work in one go or taking one break only.”
Elsa Goeva
An interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, Artefir, 8 October 2018

In 2019, we mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Prof. Dechko Uzunov, one of Bulgaria’s most notable artists and intellectuals. Using the art gallery at 24 Dragan Tsankov St. as the venue, the Sofia City Art Gallery team is putting up exhibits within the Generations Program, seeking to highlight Dechko Uzunov’s palpable presence in the artworks of his disciples.
Works on display during the summer months of 2019 were created and selected by Elsa Goeva. She is among the artists who had the opportunity to start their careers at Dechko Uzunov’s teaching studio. As a result of changes to the curriculum of the Academy of Arts over the period 1947–1951, Goeva spent a semester under the professor’s mentorship. This period was enough for her to develop deep respect for Dechko Uzunov as a human being and a professional.
The selection made by Elsa Goeva for the exhibition at the Dechko Uzunov Art Gallery features predominantly landscape paintings created over the past decade. Her admirers will be treated to new canvases painted this year in her signature ‘in one go’ style, including Sunrise, To the Beach, No Title, Dreams, and Loneliness.

Elisaveta Borisova Goeva was born in 1928 in the town of Bolyarovo, Yambol District. After she graduated from the All-girls School of the city of Burgas, she applied for a painting major at the Academy of Arts, Sofia, where she was admitted. Her course of study over the period between 1947 and 1951 included a semester under the mentorship of Dechko Uzunov. Elsa Goeva earned her art major under Panayot Panayotov. After her graduation, she became active on the Bulgarian art scene. She participated in group exhibitions held in Moscow, Bucharest, Prague, Ankara, Istanbul, etc. Her first solo painting exhibitions were held after 1965 in Sofia. She had numerous exhibitions in the capital city (1978, 1986, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2014), her latest solo exhibition having been held in 2018 to mark the 90th anniversary of her birth.