"Element" Painting

Ilian Kolev is a highly regarded Bulgarian artist whose work is leaving profound mark on the world of fine arts.
Born in 1960, he completed his artistic education at two of Bulgaria’s most prestigious institutions.
From 1974 to 1979, he attended the National School of Fine Arts in Sofia, followed by the National Academy of Arts (1982–1987), where he specialized in monumental and decorative painting.

His artistry is evident in the numerous murals and mosaic panels he has created for both public and private spaces.
His talent transcended Bulgaria’s borders in 1995, when he held his first international exhibition in Vienna, Austria.
Since then, Kolev has exhibited his works in various countries, earning global recognition.

In addition to his career as a painter, Kolev contributed to the arts as an educator, teaching painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Plovdiv.
Since 2015, he has served as the founder, director, and curator of the Art Gallery of Plovdiv’s Cultural Institute, where he has organized over 70 exhibitions featuring Bulgarian and international artists.

Kolev’s career highlights include a 2016 residency at the prestigious ateliers of Cité des Arts in Paris, France, and his ongoing participation in the renowned Salon d’Automne in Paris from 2019 to 2025.
In 2021, his exceptional talent was recognized with a painting prize from Les Amis du Salon d’Automne de Paris.

Kolev’s works are held in galleries and private collections across Bulgaria, France, Austria, Germany, Russia, the USA, Japan, and beyond.
Art critics have praised his style as deeply intellectual and transformative, noting that through each work of chromatic and achromatic colors matter swirls. This evokes a biblical sense of the transformation of the world.

Reflecting on his art, Kolev states:
“I color the material world with the imagination of fictional images that lose their outlines. I animate the space through ideas provoked by my desire to find a medium enriched with the layers of history, customs, and human discoveries.”