Georgi Chapkanov

Georgi Todorov Chapkanov – Chapa (b. 1943)

Georgi Todorov Chapkanov (Chapa)—a Bulgarian sculptor, illustrator, and scenographer—was born on January 24, 1943, in Valchi Dol, Varna Province. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, majoring in Sculpture, and later specialized in Paris.

Georgi Chapkanov is a Professor and the Head of the Department of Artistic Metal Processing at the National Academy of Arts. He is an unsurpassed master of small-scale sculpture (small plastics). His small-scale sculptures are featured in numerous private collections worldwide, while his large-scale sculptures adorn public spaces and museums from Europe to Japan. Among the institutions that own his works are the National Gallery in Sofia, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the Utsukushi-Ga-Hara Open-Air Museum in Japan, the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi, the Moran Open-Air Museum in South Korea, La Balade de Séprais in Switzerland, the Peter Ludwig Collection in Germany, and the Musée de Moutier in Switzerland.

Chapkanov is the co-author of the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bulgaria (1997) and the creator of the iconic "St. Sofia" statue in the capital city (2000). He is also the designer of numerous coins and medals, and has sculpted and drawn portraits of some of Bulgaria's most prominent figures.

He is the recipient of prestigious awards, including the First Prize for Sculpture from the Union of Bulgarian Artists (1977, 1979, 1986); the Hakone Open-Air Museum's Rodin Prize (Japan); the Hakone Open-Air Museum's Henry Moore Grand Prix (Japan); the Sculpture Prize from the Triennale of Art in New Delhi (1991); the "Sulmona" Prize awarded by the President of Italy for his portrait of director Federico Fellini (1993); and the Grand Prix in Paris (2002).

Prof. Georgi Chapkanov is also the creator of the unique "Monument to the Donors" in Svishtov. His other works in the city include the monument to Prof. Ivan Shishmanov, as well as the bas-relief of Tsvetan Radoslavov in Sofia.

Prof. Chapkanov's artistic contributions to Svishtov extend beyond mere execution of sculpture; they represent a deeply profound act of recreating the city’s most cherished historical realities—philanthropy, as the builder and emblem of the town; the cultural renovator Prof. Ivan Shishmanov, one of the most prominent figures of Svishtov and Bulgaria; and another visionary, Svishtov-born Tsvetan Radoslavov.