THE FAIRY-TALE WORLD OF ILIYA ZHELEV

There is a well-known aphorism which says: "What you like about others is what you are yourself." And if you consider this in terms of painting: people like the paintings they would paint themselves.

This is very much the orientation of Anri Peruscho, novelist and biographer of many impressionists, when he once said: "How could I write a book about a painter I did not like?!"

All I can say is: I like the painter Iliya Zhelev and his paintings. And more than this, among the young Bulgarian painters, he is the one I admire most, and he is one of the most talented of his generation. My opinion and liking are wonderfully identical.

It is a truism that art and the way we perceive it are processes controlled by our emotions; they defy logic. I must stress that I am neither an art critic nor a connoisseur but I would like to say what draws me to Iliya Zhelev's paintings, and what I like about them. Gaudy and warm shades in magical harmony, the play of colours, red moons in a blue sky like paper boats, far away on route for unknown coastlines. The little houses with pointed gables and tiny windows, where Snow White, good fairies, dwarfs and Cinderella live… This whole fairy-tale world, rich in symbols, apparitions, memories and dreams - as if painted by a child. Only a painter/poet is capable of this, an artist who has preserved the purity and sincerity of a child's soul, a creator with a good and loving heart, with alert feelings and undisguised sensitivity, someone who truly believes he can save the beauty of the world. -

Humans are born talented. A gift of god, or as biologists would say, predestination. Whether a person develops into and wins recognition as a great poet, musician or painter depends on the environment in which he or she grows up, learns and works. Fate was good to Zhelev. He was born in Plovdiv, a city which was home to the most famous Bulgarian artists: Zl. Boyadzhiev, Tz. Lavrenov, G. Bozhilov, Yoan Leviev, D. Kirov and dozens more. To them, Plovdiv owes its reputation as "city of the artists". A magical spirit which fathers and nurtures artists seems to float over Plovdiv. What is the secret of this city? Its thousand year history and numerous traces of culture and art dating back to the Thracians and Romans? Its seven solitary hills rising up in the middle of plains stretching for miles around? The tranquillity and romanticism of the old town with its splendid houses and gardens from the age of Bulgarian renaissance? The hot southern sun and cool waters of Maritza? Or a unique combination of all these factors?

Zhelev was just ten when he felt the urge to paint. He attended art school in Smolyan - a town situated in the heart of the Rhodopen, where even today many remnants of former customs and culture are still much in evidence. It is famous for its colourful blankets, beautiful traditional costumes and its wonderful landscape with its legends and sagas about Orpheus and Evridika and heroes such as Momtschil and Petko Woiwoda.

After completing art school, Iliya Zhelev attended the Faculty of Fine Arts in Veliko Tarnovo, capital of Bulgaria, and one of Europe's major cultural centres. A city with its houses built on top of each other on steep slopes and the meandering River Yantra, far down below, its ancient fortress and towers on the historic Tzarevetz hill, its old shopping street "Samokovska tscharschia" and narrow cobbled alleys. Small workshops and shops line the streets, producing and selling souvenirs and household goods from former times.

Before Zhelev returns to Plovdiv, he spends several years working as a teacher in the small mountain town of Tryavna. It is rather like an open-air museum with its unique wooden houses, carved ceilings and old icons - all masterpieces by artists from the famous school of wood craft and icon painting. It is in Tryavna where Zhelev creates his first paintings. This draws him immediately to the attention of art connoisseurs and the public. Zhelev experiences the joy of his initial success, and receives awards; his work sells well.

The sensitive and talented spirit of the young Zhelev is formed by this colourful, old-style, romantic and picturesque world. All this is reflected in his paintings: the hot southern sun and the painted houses in old Plovdiv, the intense colours of the Rhodopen blankets and the green mountain meadows, the deep blue sky with red moons over the fairy-tale town of Tzarevetz, the symbols of Tryavna's carved ceilings and icons - all reproduced in Iliya Zhelev's paintings. This mysterious world is captured in his paintings. He transforms his white canvas into a magic realm of colours, symbols, characters and vivid harmony, into fairy-tale magic. There is even a slight reflection of the paintings of G. Genkov, L. Yankov and I. Vukadinov, of Chagal, Klee and Kandinski - Zhelev's favourite painters. Like every painter, he learnt from his predecessors, they were his teachers and they inspired him. Critics have commented that the special character of Zhelev's abstract paintings is very typical for his country, and this is why his paintings are so popular there.

And something else I would like to mention - Zhelev's amazing productivity, his dedication to his art. He once said to me: "If you want to compete with many other painters, you have to work hard, to the point of exhaustion. Not everyone can do that. There are many who are prepared to abandon their art for material wealth. I couldn't do that. Even now, as in my youth, I live my painting 24 hours a day. I couldn't imagine life without it. I have no desire to do anything else. If you took my brushes and pallet away, I'd die!"

I am certain that Iliya Zhelev will never lose his passion for his art. We can look forward to many more paintings. And I believe in his success. His work will ensure his reputation as one of the best painters of Plovdiv, if not Bulgaria.

Prof. Dr. Stanev