Roszen Ruszev

Over the decades of artistic activity I have been developing a personal mythology: my profane icons are an amalgamation of Mediterranean visions of lust, modern cinema and literature as well as archetypes emerging from the depths of the human soul. Each couple of years I try to renew my technique, staying faithful to my search for the ideal form. After I abandoned my original metier of gobelin-weaver, I turned to black and white collage, followed by a longer period of pencil and pastel drawings. Today I use gouache to let mystical visages, imaginary bodies and unseen landscapes materialize as pulsating filaments of energy.

I was born in 1946 in Bulgaria. Even as a child I knew I would become an artist. At the age of nine I had already joined an adult drawing course. Starting from youth, reading and going to the cinema have always had a gread impact on my growing up. Especially world literature, the Greek mythology and 20th century cinema (Fellini, Truffaut etc.) left a deep impression on me. Some of the 20th century artists that have been influential to my work are Hans Bellmer and M.C. Escher. Classical music and operas (Beethoven and Verdi), Dali’s surrealism, the French impressionists have all shaped my vision.

Since gradu...

1968–69: Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, Illustration Course (Bulgaria)
1970–74: Hungarian University of Applied Arts, “MOME” Tapestry Course, Budapest (Hungary)
1975: Degree at “MOME”
1976–77: Post-graduate specialisation at “MOME”
since 1976: member of Hungarian Artist’s Association (“MAOE”)

I have had more than 50 exhibitions, mostly in Hungary, Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia. Some Highlights:

• “con moto”, Atelier dell' Arco Amoroso, 2005 (Art colony) Ancona, and other towns of the the Ancona and Rieti Provinces, Italy.
• International Ex-Libris Exhibiton, 2004, Metz (France)
• Solo Exhibition, 1990, Maassluis (The Netherlands)
• World Expo 1988, Hungarian Pavilion, Brisbane (Australia)
• Oslo Gobelin Exhibition, 1976 (Norway)