Iliya Zhelev

With enchanting harmonies and the play of his colors, the small surreal touches, Zhelev gives expression to a playful, unselfconscious joy that makes Iliya Zhelev one of the first guard of contemporary artists in Europe. After graduating from art high school, he was trained as a painter at two academies in his home country. Born in Plovdiv in 1961, the Bulgarian was inspired by masters such as Klee, Kandinsky and Poliakoff. In terms of color intensity, he proves to be an admirer of Marc Chagall. Zhelev's works are shown in numerous galleries and collections in Europe and the USA. Life is seen as an abundance of possibilities. The signs and symbols embody timeless values whose roots are rooted in Bulgarian folk beliefs, among other things. In their richly detailed variety of motifs and decorative schemes, they are reminiscent of the work of Bulgarian textile weavers. Depending on whether the color fields are juxtaposed in related tones or compete as opposites, sometimes a gentle harmony is created, sometimes a tension-filled dialogue. Like Chagall, Zhelev is an endearing narrator in the world of fantasy and dreams. A painstaking poet who believes, with alert feeling and undisguised sensitivity, that beauty can save the world.