ILIA VARCEV shows work at Perimeter College

Ilia Varcev

I’ve known Ilia for about three years now.  I was introduced to him by fellow motorcycle enthusiast and photographer Dave Kaufman.  Dave said, I’ve got a guy you need to meet, so we went down to Kool Corner for a Cuban sandwich and swung around the corner on 14th St into a unmarked store front doorway.  Inside was the most wonderful menagerie of fine art photography that i’ve been exposed to at this point in my young 40+ years of living.  We became friends, and through a few mutual friends, Ilia moved to the beloved Smyrna, GA (geeee-AYE) and became a follower of the FrogShway.  Infact, Ilia holds rights to the very FIRST FrogShway-T.  It was in his photographic dark room that we labored unsuccessfully to produce that Shway-odious-T.  But that is another story all together.

Ilia is a Bulgarian photographer who sought refuge in America during a time of unrest and change in his mother land.  Few people can tell a first hand history of Atlanta’s photographic history that Ilia (perhaps John Sumner) and I treasure every moment I get to perch at his feet of learned-ness.

Tonight for the second time is over 10 years, over 50 of Ilia’s works are on display at Perimeter College in Clarkson (a place where I use to play as a kid, living just down the road in some very much in decay apartments).  Even to frame 50 images is a great expense and Ilia has surely had more than a few opportunities to display his work from notable peoples in the Atlanta area.

It was at the ‘Celebration of Life’ service of Bosco (a Brazilian born painter, who painted at Frederic Payet’s Art Space International) that Ilia made the connection to show at Perimeter College.  We had driven there together and he was approached by the curator who is also a sculptor of lips.  Ilia loves to see the minds of young people reach for the stars, so when the opportunity presented itself to show at a college it must have struck a cord deep inside.  He could show his work just about anywhere, but he chose a place where he could inspire.  For me, that makes Ilia Varcev one of the great hero’s in my life and so well deserving to hold the #1 FrogShway T.

Boyz in Magenta Czechoslovakia 1958 (Ilia on left w/ camera)

We were chatting the other day at another one of Smyrna’s world class artisans, Sculptor Beau Smith of BeautifulFrog.com and Ilia remarked that he had word the ShwayT to a wedding recently.  On more than one occasion, he’s asked me for a brochure that he could give to people explaining the Shway.  I LOVE that MAN!

Reception: Wed, Oct 6, 5pm – 8pm

Jim Cherry Learning Resource Center Gallery, 4th Floor
Georgia Perimeter College
555 N. Indian Creek Drive
Clarkston, GA 30021  [map: Google Maps]
hours: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu: 8am – 9pm
Fri: 8am – 4:30pm
Sat: 10am – 2pm
Sun: 2pm – 6pm
p: (678) 891-3556
permalink: http://festivalguide.acpinfo.org/listings/view/460

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