70 years of artistic creation
“Seventy years of artistic creation — a living testament to imagination, dedication, and cultural memory.”
The art exhibition with the promotion of the Monograph "70 Years of Art" by the Gevgelija artist and long-time teacher, Boris Petrov, marked the event "Gevgelija City of Culture for 2025". A large number of visitors, at the "Apolonija" hotel - Gevgelija, where this event was held, on May 24, 2025, paid tribute to his work and contribution to Macedonian art.
The event represented the culmination of the long-term work and creative opus of Boris Petrov, who with his painting left a deep mark on the art scene not only for Gevgelija, but also beyond. The exhibition, so far, is also the largest in scope to be realized in Gevgelija at all, because 100 of his works in small and large format were exhibited in "Apolonija". The monograph "70 Years of Fine Arts" is a significant document on Petrov's artistic journey, containing rich visual and textual material on his most significant works, stylistic evolutions, realized exhibitions, personal reflections on art, as well as testimonies and records of his influence on art. The event took place in a solemn and warm atmosphere, with addresses by the President of the Council of the Municipality of Gevgelija, Gjorge Popov; archaeologist and curator advisor, Boban Husenovski and art historian, Klime Korobar, who emphasized Petrov's dedication, originality and long-standing contribution to the cultural development of the region.
Academic painter Boris Petrov was born in Gevgelija, in 1935. He graduated from the School of Applied Arts in Skopje, in the class of Lazar Lichenovski, and the Pedagogical Academy, Department of Painting in Skopje. After returning to Gevgelija, he worked for a short time as an art teacher in Valandovo, and from 1958 he worked as an art pedagogue at the Vlado Kantardzhiev Primary School in Gevgelija, until his retirement. He has been a member of the Macedonian Academy of Fine Arts since 1969 and is considered a master of the warm Macedonian color, and his inspiration is the climate under which he lives and creates. He had his first solo exhibition in Gevgelija in 1959. In his 70-year artistic career, he has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in the country and abroad. Even at the age of 90, he still creates and participates in art and cultural events.
