My name is Paola Minekov, and my artistic voice was formed in dialogue with the artwork of m father, the Bulgarian sculptor Ivan Minekov. His influence is present in every artistic decision I make, from composition and colour to the way I consider the human figure, balance and public space.
Growing Up with a Sculptor: Craft, Integrity and the Human Figure
I grew up watching my father transform wood, bronze and stone into living presences. His work has a powerful sense of monumentality, presence and, just like him, quiet dignity. He taught me that art must speak truth, even when truth is difficult.
This belief sustained, I think, him through the late socialist period in Bulgaria and into the years after 1989, when artists renegotiated the balance between personal vision and public expectation. His public sculptures across Bulgaria are sites of memory, identity and cultural dialogue.
At the Romanian Academy of Fine Arts,where he met my mother, a talented artist and designer in her own right, he refined a modernist approach that combined clarity of form with emotional depth. From him I learned the importance of balance, not only compositionally, but also the balance between the narrative, focus, aesthetics and respect for my materials. Most importantly, the role of the artist and the value of the human figure in art history. Even though I chose painting rather than sculpture, I inherited his commitment to integrity and the idea that form and meaning must be inseparable.
Modernism as a Foundation for Contemporary Practice
Modernism provided the shared language that connects our work across generations. My father’s sculptural clarity informed my own search for essential form through colour, rhythm and line. In my paintings I explore reduction and synthesis, which are central to modernist aesthetics, while keeping the figure and the human experience at the centre. Light, shadow and the movement of the body are recurring themes. This focus aligns with European modernism and with the figurative traditions of Eastern European art.
A review of our work, which reflects on our artistic legacy from Bulgaria, describes a conversation between sculpture and painting. It highlights how my father’s robust forms and my fluid surfaces engage the viewer in complementary ways. That insight resonates with my own experience. I often feel that his bronze has taught my colour how to stand.
As a painter my work is also informed by my love for the colour and lights of the impressionist and idea of art for the sake of art, and idea promoted by aesthetic art. But at its core my painting is sculptural in its three dimensionality and treatment of defined planes, the way he cuts clay with his knife, I create multifaceted colourful planes with mine.
From Bulgaria to London: East and West in Conversation
Relocating to London expanded my horizons and connected my Bulgarian roots to the international art scene. It opened access to collections and conversations that were once out of reach. It created a productive tension between heritage and contemporaneity. I draw on Bulgarian cultural memory, yet I work within a global context. London’s galleries and museums have enriched my understanding of modern art, while my background keeps my eye tuned to the nuances of history and identity.
When our works were shown together at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in London, the interplay became clear. His bronze figures carried a disciplined weight and timelessness. My canvases responded with colour, tempo and transience. Viewers recognised a shared visual language that links Bulgarian art, modernist rigour and contemporary concerns.
An Artist’s Ethos Shaped by Legacy and Change
My father taught me that art is a civic act and a moral act. It is also an important part of every day life for collectors and an self-expression for the artist. It is a conversation between artist and audience, past and present, memory and possibility. In a world of rapid digital change, I still believe in the modernist promise of art as a transformative force. I aim to make paintings that are both accessible and sophisticated, which is the balance I admired in his sculptures.
I continue to refine a practice that unites Bulgarian heritage, figurative art and the principles of modernism. Each canvas is a continuation of a family dialogue, a cross-generational exchange that affirms continuity and welcomes evolution. My father’s legacy guides my choices, yet modern art keeps me open to risk, clarity and renewal.
Key Themes That Define My Artistic Vision
- Bulgarian sculptor Ivan Minekov as a foundational influence on my work
- European modernism as a shared aesthetic language across generations
- Figurative art, the human form and the interplay of light and shadow
- Public sculpture, cultural memory and art as civic dialogue
- Contemporary painting informed by Bulgarian heritage and the London art scene
- Intergenerational creativity, authenticity and integrity in studio practice
I paint to continue a story that began in a Bulgarian studio and now lives in London. It is a story of modernist clarity, of family and of art that seeks to speak with honesty. Each new work is a step forward that still honours where I began.
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