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A native of Burgas, Bulgaria, Iliyan Ivanov received his
fine arts training under the mentorship of internationally recognized Bulgarian painter George
Yanakiev.
Mr. Ivanov came to the US in 1994 and in 1996 he presented the one-person show, “Tides
of Time,” at Ryden Galleries in Anderson, Indiana. Embracing both figurative and abstract
imagery in an amalgam of painting, drawing and collage, the works from this period reflected
the artist’s immigration experience and his impressions of the “New World.”
Since 1997, when he migrated to New York City from the Midwest, Ivanov has participated
in a number of group and juried shows, primarily at galleries in New York City. He presented
works from his interactive multi-panel project entitled “The Revolving Doors” as
part of “The Times Square Plan for Peace Project,” for solo shows at the Consul
General of the Republic of Bulgaria, and at Chashama and CURB Galleries in New York. These
permanent installations have been created on compact disc, presenting an unusual opportunity
for viewers to assemble their own compositions from the components the artist has provided.
In such a way each viewer’s participation becomes an integral part in unfolding the
diversity of emotional interplay between the individual pieces.
Regardless of medium and scale, Ivanov develops his ideas in thematically related series
meant to challenge the observer’s own creativity. Ivanov’s interactive works
have been internationally recognized through invitations to the “International Art
Festival of Light” in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and the “Contemporary Bulgarian Artists
in New York” show in Manhattan in 2003. Over the past several years his work has been
selected for presentations at the New York Collection at the Albright-Knox gallery in Buffalo,
the d.u.m.b.o. International Art Festival, Miami Art Basel, the Toronto Art Salon, the New
York Emerging Artists Gala and the Red Dot Art Fair. His Internet début was marked
by an invitational solo show at the ImagineStation website in the spring of 2004, with subsequent
presentations in juried shows at Neoimage, Energy gallery, and Projekt30. The artist is
also a co-founder of the CURB Arts Group, a nonprofit organization that promotes aesthetic
dialogue among international artists through alternative space exhibitions and performances
in New York City.
Ivanov and his family live in Manhattan and he continues to balance careers in art and
science. |
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