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NIKOLAY YANAKIEV
ARTIST BIO

Nikolay Yanakiev was born in June 23, 1954 in the town of Dupnitsa, Bulgaria. In 1973 he graduated from the Fine Arts High School in Sofia and in 1981 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, specializing in painting and fine arts in the class of Prof. Svetlin Rousev.

Nikolay Yanakiev photo-6.jpg

The works of Nikolay Yanakiev are in possession of the following museums and galleries:

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy; The Mimara Muzeum in Zagreb, Croatia; The National Gallery of Fine Arts in La Valleta, Malta; The UNESCO Collection, Burgenland, Austria; The Ludwig Collection in Cologne, Germany; the National Gallery of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria; The City Gallery of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Private collections posessing works of Nikolay Yanakiev:

Claude Litz, Paris, France; Prof. Dr. Nick Titz, Neusiedl am See, Austria; Jürgen Hoyer, Berlin, Germany; Egidius Braun, Germany; Bronda, Finland and some others in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Greece, Great Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Austria, Spain.

Memberships:

Member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists; Corresponding member of the Accademia Internacionale Greci – Marino, Italy; Accepted member of the Salon D’Automne Association, Paris, France; Selected for the art dictionary Who’s Who in International Art for 1996/97, Lausanne, Switzerland; Cavalier of the International Academy of Contemporary Arts, The Academic Palms of Vermeil, Belgium.

 

Participations in international biennales and symposia:

International Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden; International Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland; International Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium; International Images, Sewickles (PA),USA; International Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain; International Humor and Satire Biennale Gabrovo, Bulgaria; Salon d’Automne, Paris, France; International Art EXPO, Milan, Italy; Simodart, Burgenland, Austria; Europ’Art, Geneva, Switzerland.

Exhibitions: more than 150 one-man and collective shows globally.

 

Nikolay Yanakiev is the first Contemporary Bulgarian artist to sell his painting in one of the most prestigious auction houses - Christie's.

On June 23, 2022, Nikolay Yanakiev opened a solo exhibition in the "Nirvana" gallery with the weakly informative name "Painting Exhibition". The presented 33 canvases require specialattention.

 

At least in my opinion, they testify to a new level in thespiral of his searches anddiscoveries. I am ready, if I see convincing arguments, to correct myself, but until then I will maintain that Yanakiev does not have many competitors in contemporary Bulgarian painting in terms of masteringthe power and impressiveness of color. I say it so as not to directly state that there is not. He most radically favors the color structure, which precisely becomes the basis of the composition and meaningful suggestions. He insists that in painting "the most important thing is to achieve harmony between color, line and space".

 

Mastering color in such a way as to constitute both the space and its fullness of meaning has been Nikolay Yanakiev's trademark for four decades now, and he shows no intention of backing down from it. He publicly admits that his move forward is in the rhythm of "two steps forward, one stepback". It says, "I go back to make sure I haven't forgotten or missed anything and moveon. "Forward?

Prof. Dr. Georgi Kaprie

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