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| Nikolai Atanassov - Fragments of Reality, 2006, Oil on linen, 90 x 80 inches |
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  rt Interview Online Magazine is proud to introduce Nikolai Atanassov, the first place winner of the Art Interview - 5th International Online Artist Competition. Born in Pleven, Bulgaria in 1968, Atanassov now lives in San Francisco, California, USA and is represented by the California Modern Gallery and the Blueroom Gallery. He studied industrial design at the Dechko Uzunov Arts High School of Kazanlak, Bulgaria and was a private painting student with the Bulgarian master painter Michail Kamberov. Atanassov has exhibited his work in solo and group shows throughout the United States and Europe, including the Florence Biennale in 2006. His paintings sell for up to $30,000.
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Nikolai Atanassov
Fragments of Reality
2006
Oil on linen
90 x 80 inches |
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Art Interview: Where were you born?
Nikolai Atanassov: I was born in Pleven, in the northern part of Bulgaria, in 1968.
Art Interview: What was it like for you as a child growing up?
Nikolai Atanassov: It was a perfect childhood with the wild experience of nature.
Art Interview: What did your parents do for a living?
Nikolai Atanassov: My father was a cabinetmaker. Now he works in the construction business and my mother has stopped working.
Art Interview: Do you have a large family?
Nikolai Atanassov: No I have a small family, just one sister, and my mother and father.
Art Interview: Is your sister also in the arts?
Nikolai Atanassov: Yes, she does digital art. She studied at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and now she is working at a digital centre.
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Nikolai Atanassov
The Ship
2006
Oil on linen
24 x 24 inches |
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Art Interview: Is your family still in Bulgaria?
Nikolai Atanassov: No, they live in San Francisco now.
Art Interview: When did you move there?
Nikolai Atanassov: In 1998.
Art Interview: Why did your family move? Did you all move together?
Nikolai Atanassov: My parents moved 5 years before me. I followed them because America seemed like it would be a challenge for me, and I wanted to see what it was like.
Art Interview: Did your family have any influence on your becoming an artist?
Nikolai Atanassov: Kind of. My father has always drawn. He has a perfect hand for drawing and I have had the same sense for drawing since I was seven years old. They always pushed me to take lessons and when I was twelve I had my first serious art lesson.
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Michail Kamberov
Souvenir
Oil on linen
100 x 80 cm |
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Art Interview: Did you study art at a university?
Nikolai Atanassov: I studied at a special high school that had five years of art courses. It is an institute that is between a high school and a university.
Art Interview: What was the name of the school?
Nikolai Atanassov: The Dechko Uzunov Arts High School of Kazanlak, Bulgaria. I studied industrial design there. At school I always drew and worked on graphics. It wasn’t until after I’d finished that I started experimenting with colors.
Art Interview: Did you have any instructors that have influenced the way you work today?
Nikolai Atanassov: Yes, an artist named Michail Kamberov. He is a world-renowned painter (www.kamberov.com). After graduating from art school, I took classes with him for 3 years and he taught me the way of the old masters. We focused on portraits and I believe it is from this that I developed my use of colors.
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Nikolai Atanassov
Maria
1997
Oil on Canvas
40 x 36 inches |
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Art Interview: How did you make the transition from portraiture work to the intricate paintings you are making now?
Nikolai Atanassov: I have done many portraits in my life and I still do some portraiture now, but I have also done many landscapes and still-lifes. But I somehow started painting a different reality. I began abstracting reality - my work is not purely abstract. It was something that just came from my hand and was subconscious. This way of painting developed slowly and I’ve found it to be a unique and comfortable approach for me.
Art Interview: Were there any artists that you looked up to while you were developing your style?
Nikolai Atanassov: I didn’t have any artists that I would call role models. But Michail Kamberov always gave me support by telling me that my work was very good and that I had to continue with it.
Art Interview: Have you always had the intention of becoming a professional artist?
Nikolai Atanassov: Yes, I’ve always wanted to be successful with my art. I want to stay in the art field because it is in my heart.
Art Interview: What galleries are currently representing you?
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Nikolai Atanassov
Thorgh the Light
2006
Oil on linen
30 x 48 inches |
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Nikolai Atanassov: The California Modern Gallery in San Francisco is where I am showing most of my work. My work is also in the collection of the Blue Room Gallery
Art Interview: How did you get into the California Modern Gallery?
Nikolai Atanassov: I showed my slides to a gallery and they recommended me to the California Modern Gallery.
Art Interview: What was the art dealer’s reaction to your work?
Nikolai Atanassov: They had my slides for almost a month and a half but they gave me an answer much later. They called and the dealer came to my studio to look at my work. Afterwards I started exhibiting there.
Art Interview: Have you had solo exhibitions there?
Nikolai Atanassov: Yes, I’ve done both group and solo exhibitions at the gallery.
Art Interview: How successful were your solo exhibitions?
Nikolai Atanassov: The most successful period was probably in 2001. But shortly after that the economy dropped when the dot com market bubble broke. Then, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks there was another slump in the market. It has gradually gotten better over the last couple of years and is now much stronger than five years ago.
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Nikolai Atanassov
The Colors of Passion
2006
Oil on linen
48 x 60 inches |
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Art Interview: How often do you put on solo exhibitions?
Nikolai Atanassov: I don’t really have a set schedule, but I normally have one solo exhibition a year, sometimes two. In addition to exhibiting in galleries, the Institute for Unpopular Culture arranges several solo and group shows for me through the year, in San Francisco.”
Art Interview: Are you able to survive from selling artwork?
Nikolai Atanassov: I’m able to live from painting. It’s what I do.
Art Interview: Have you been exhibiting internationally?
Nikolai Atanassov: Yes, I was in the 1998 International Art Festival, Scopje, Macedonia; 2006 Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy and the 2007 Art Interview Award Exhibition in Berlin, Germany.
Art Interview: What was your experience like at the 2006 Florence Biennale?
Nikolai Atanassov: I was allocated two meters of space so I showed one big painting. The Biennale was a learning experience. I met a lot of people and made some good connections. I received a lot of positive feedback and compliments for my work. I had a critique in front of an audience given by John Spike who is an art critic for the Uffizi Museum in Florence. I was nervous at the time, but people from the audience told me that this was one of the most excellent critiques that he had given at the Biennale.
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Nikolai Atanassov
Beyond Imagination
2006
Oil on linen
36 x 36 inches |
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Art Interview: How did you transport the work?
Nikolai Atanassov: By DHL, it cost me about 500 dollars to ship.
Art Interview: How did you get into the Florence Biennale?
This oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with Nikolai Atanassov on January 29, 2006. The interview took place in Berlin, Germany and was conducted by Brendan Davis for Art Interview Online Magazine.
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