Ivan Minekov () is one of the most appreciated contemporary

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s. He lives and works in

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. A graduate of the Academy for Fine Arts "

Nicolae Grigorescu Nicolae Grigorescu (; 15 May 1838 – 21 July 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romanian painting. He is considered by Romanians the greatest Romanian painter, and one of the founders of modern Romanian art. He is most known for paintin ...

" in

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(1970–1975), under Professor Paul Vasilescu's beneficial guidance, Ivan Minekov's striking talent quickly attracted the attention of the Bulgarian artistic society. In the early years of his career, Ivan Minekov participated in all common exhibitions in Bulgaria, as well as in representative exhibitions in Europe. In the period between 1975 and 1990 he completed a number of large monumental works in many Bulgarian cities, among which his native

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the centre of Pazardzhik Province and Pazardzhik Municipality. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain and in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv Field, a ...

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

(1978),

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, ...

Lovech Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...

, Dorkovo and others. In the same period he was included in the Encyclopedia of Bulgarian Fine Arts. The

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produced a short film about his monumental work Levski (1987) and a documentary about the artist (1988), which is now included in BNT's golden fund. Also in 1988, Minekov's work was chosen as a symbol of the second allied space journey of Bulgaria and Russia. The portrait of Professor Denton Cooley (1990), founder of the Texas Heart Institute, owned and deeply appreciated by Mr. Cooley, as well as Georges Ecly's interest towards Minekov's art, opened the doors to a rewarding international artistic career. In 1993-94 the Harada Collection in Tokyo commissioned Ivan Minekov to create the portrait of Peter Michailov and in the year of 2000, Minekov's inclination towards mythology and history brought to life Dimitar Peshev's portrait, honoring the great politician for saving the Bulgarian Jews in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The bust has proudly found its place in the Palace of Europe in

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. Today Minekov's works are owned by private collectors throughout Europe, USA, Israel and Japan. In the last few years the artist has participated in two exhibitions in the

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(2005, 2007) and in a joint exhibition with painter Branimir Tzakov in the Seasons Gallery in Sofia (2006). He has also completed two portraits commissioned by private collectors from New York, USA. In 2007 Ivan Minekov was chosen as one of Bulgaria's leading artists to be represented on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official website.

External links

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Part of greater Europe - a Council of Europe release, page 56
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minekov, Ivan 20th-century Bulgarian male artists 20th-century Bulgarian artists 1947 births Living people People from Pazardzhik