Artists

Orlin Mantchev

Artist Profile

Orlin Mantchev (b. Bulgaria, 1962) is a contemporary Minimalist artist who unites Western and Eastern culture and values. Drawing on his love of nature and spirituality, he makes meditative paintings that are both authentic and profound, both uplifting and healing. His paintings have been widely exhibited in prominent galleries in Athens, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Montreal, New York, Sofia, St. John’s, and Toronto. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Art Bank of Canada and the National Gallery of Bulgaria.

After selective competition in 1976, Mantchev was accepted to study in Bulgaria’s exclusive High School of Fine Arts, earning two scholarships over the duration of five years. Following six years of classical training, he graduated with a Master’s degree in painting from the prestigious Nicolai Pavlovich University of Fine Arts in Sofia in 1989. In 1990, he immigrated to Canada, making it his new home and establishing an art career that had already taken root in Europe. In 1994, after traveling to India and the Himalayas, profound spiritual experiences deepened Mantchev’s vision and perspective of art. This experience led to a process of simplification and a movement toward the contemplative.

Today, Mantchev remains devoted to his meditative style, actively contributing to the art scene by inviting the viewer to contemplate the beauty of nature.

My works fuse the rich tradition of European art with Asian traditions, poetic simplicity, resulting in a timeless quietude reminiscent of Zen meditation. These are paintings for the mind as much as for the eye, mappings of mystical territories into which I offer intensive experiences of the infiniteness and richness of nature. As an engraved history of my past, ancient murals, fayum portraits, and icons found in the Mediterranean region influenced my encaustic technique, distinguishable by an exceptional depth of time faded textures. As an artist, throughout the years I developed my own method: cold acrylic encaustic. Building my paintings layer by layer with paste, formulated from natural pigments, wax and graphite and drawing the image from life, enables me to achieve soulful realistic expression of the world around me in subtle spatial atmosphere conducive to meditative art. At once tranquil and inspiring, my paintings become indoor gardens inviting the viewer to contemplate the beauty of nature’s most mystical creations.

Education

  • 1989 M.F.A [Painting] Nicolai Pavlovich University of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • 1981 Diploma with Honours, Ilya Petroc High School of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria

Solo Exhibitons

  • 2008 Elevated Landscapes, Gallery 133, Toronto, ON
  • 2008 Land Meets Water, Delong Gallery, Toronto, ON
  • 2007 Ecritures Sacres, Maleeva Rakoff Gallery, Paris, France
  • 2005 Primal Breath, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 2002 Horizont, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 2001 Recent Works, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 2000 Spanish Landscapes, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 1999 Meditation In Colours, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 1998 Primal Force, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 1993 Mindland, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1992 Night Planet, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1991 Recent Works, Icons, St. John’s NFLD
  • 1990 New City, GBU, Sofia, Bulgaria

Group Exhibitions

  • 2008 Tinku Gallery  Toronto, ON
  • 2008 Deleon White Gallery  Toronto, ON
  • 2007 Reconstruction, Chatham Gallery, New York City, NY
  • 2007 Pouch Cove Foundation  Spin Gallery, Toronto, ON
  • 2005 Gallery Artists, Kabat Wobel Gallery, Toronto, ON
  • 2004 Two And Between, Kabat Wobel Gallery, Toronto, ON
  • 2003 Abstract, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 2002 Scattered Seeds, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 2002 Recent Works, Jadite Galleries, New York City, NY
  • 2001 Scattered Seeds, Union of Bulgarian Artists Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • 2001 Little Stories To Tell, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 2000 Earth Works, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 1999 Six + Six, MEG Gallery, Toronto, ON
  • 1998 Recent Works, Live Art Space, Toronto, ON
  • 1997 Light, Eastern Edge Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1997 Midnight Europa, La Comanella, Lugano, Switzerland
  • 1996 Gallery Artists, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1994 Surrender, Orangerie Benrath, Dusseldorf, Germany
  • 1994 Names, Bunkerstudio, Dusseldorf, Germany
  • 1992 Murart, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1992 Wanderman, Icons, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1992 Annual Arts and Letters Competition, Memorial University Art Gallery, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1992 Flight 333, LSPU Hall, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1990 Bulgarian Art Exhibition, City Hall, St. John’s, NFLD
  • 1989 Paintings From The Nicolai Collection, Hamburg, Germany
  • 1989 National Exhibition, Sofia, Bulgaria