WASSIL IVANOFF
(1909–1975)

Wassil Ivanoff (1909–1975) was a Bulgarian painter and graphic artist, best known as the founder of the Cosmic Graphics movement. Born in Sofia and raised in Kazanlak, he showed early talent in both painting and music. In 1939, he graduated from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, where he studied painting under Professors Nikola Ganushev and Nikola Marinov.

Early in his career, Ivanoff became part of the Society of New Artists and the progressive artist group Barakatsi, working alongside prominent figures such as Vasil Barakov, David Peretz, and Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. Deeply interested in spiritual teachings, he joined the Izgrev community, led by the philosopher and teacher Peter Deunov.

Ivanoff held his first solo exhibition in 1946, featuring landscapes and still lifes. Over time, his focus shifted toward graphic landscapes and abstract explorations of the universe, culminating in his signature series Cosmos. Between 1955 and 1967, he presented eight solo graphic exhibitions in Sofia. His work was also exhibited internationally in major cultural centers such as London, Budapest, Kraków, Leipzig, Beirut, Geneva, and Paris, where he showed at several galleries between 1971 and 1974. A posthumous exhibition was held in Nice in 2006.

He is represented in the National Art Gallery in Sofia with works such as Eagle Bridge in Sofia (1951), Seashore (1954), and Bay – Sozopol (1957). Ivanoff’s contributions are recognized internationally; the New York Encyclopedia of Visual Arts cites him as the originator of the Cosmic Graphics style—a unique synthesis of imagination, structure, and metaphysical vision.

Wassil Ivanoff

Principales expositions

1946; 1955; 1957 – SOFIA

1962; 1966 – Exposition “Cosmos”, SOFIA

1958 – BUDAPEST, LONDRES

1963 – BEYROUTH, CRACOVIE

1966 – LEIPZIG

1967 – BERLIN (EST)

1967 – BERLIN (OUEST)

1971 – Galerie du Soleil, GENÈVE

1972 – Hall de la Préfecture, CERGY PONTOISE

1971 – Galerie Transposition, PARIS

1971 – Galerie Piera, NEUILLY

1974 – Galerie Look, PARIS

1974 – Galerie Hexagramme, PARIS

2006 – Galerie Martin-Blasselle, NICE

Celestial Visions

The COSMOS CYCLE immerses the viewer in cosmic landscapes, celestial bodies, and the vast unknown. The monochromatic medium enhances the sense of depth and infinity, evoking a profound connection to the universe – a journey through space and beyond, captured in striking contrasts of white chalk on black paper.

Explore

Max-Pol Fouchet

EXHIBITION "TRIBUTE TO WASSIL IVANOFF"

"The oeuvre of Wassil Ivanoff belongs in Art's domain, definitely; and the skill manifest in his images, the very virtuosity with which he throws onto the black background the white or colored form, the certainty of his draughtsmanship and purpose, won't let one doubt that. Nevertheless, his artistry is but a means, a servant to a poetry, a thought, a vision transcending the purely esthetic accomplishment, revealing a singular depth, irreducible to any other, unique."

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Prof. D. Sc. Ch. Popov

WASSIL IVANOFF EYEING NATURE AND VISUALISING THE COSMOS

"As a matter of fact, the first show of Ivanoff's, comprising works from that Cycle, was opened in Sofia in 1964. A while after that, the New York Encyclopaedia of Visal Arts described him as the progenitor of a new direction in art, called Cosmic Graphic. This cosmic moment is the main reason why Ivanoff remained separated from the Bulgarian art mainstream of the 20th c."

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Kalin Nikolov

IN THE TIME OF TRUE ART

"Beyond or within the temporality of art! He kept in step with the quests of the current tendencies; he followed a profound and risky course for his oeuvre; he was the first Bulgarian abstractionist; and he was easily distinguishable by reason of his entirely individual philosophy and manner of working."

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Deyan Kiuranov, PhD

WASSIL IVANOFF, AS CREATED BY HIMSELF

"In 1971, Wassil Ivanoff, a visual artist, went to Paris from his native Sofia. For an artist from the People's Republic of Bulgaria, as it styled itself at the time, Paris was not only a place where one could meet world art; it was also part of the West, where art was seen differently, both aesthetically and in terms of market value. In terms of market value, Wassil Ivanoff's visit was not a success."

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“...We realize being in the presence
of one of those creators who are,
by rights, the guardians of light...”

Max-Pol Fouchet

Along with the emblematic COSMOS CYCLE, the Anastasov Collection houses over 600 works, including little-known portraits, landscapes, still lifes, drawings of nude bodies and abstract motifs.