site.bta110th Birth Anniversary of Artist and Designer Dimitre Mehandjiysky

Bulgarian artist and designer Dimitre Mehandjiysky was born on October 8, 1915, in Bosilegrad. In 1946, he graduated from the National Academy of Art, specializing in Monumental and Decorative Arts under Prof. Dechko Uzunov.

Mehandjiysky created tapestries, graphic works, and furniture designs. He designed furniture and home accessories and worked on numerous museums, exhibitions, interiors of stores and art galleries, international expositions, and trade fairs. He participated in all national exhibitions of applied arts with his tapestries and interior design projects, establishing himself as a leading figure in Bulgarian applied design. Mehandjiysky also painted, focusing mainly on watercolour landscapes. Although he produced many paintings, they are less known than his applied and interior design works. His paintings often depict Bulgarian traditional architecture and landscapes from Balchik, Sozopol, Nessebar, Koprivshtitsa, Karlovo, Plovdiv, and the Sofia region.

From 1951 to 1963, Mehandjiysky was chief designer of international fairs organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He designed Bulgaria’s art exhibitions for the World Festivals of Youth and Students in Budapest, Warsaw, and Bucharest. He was also responsible for the design of the Bulgarian pavilions at international fairs in Prague and Vienna in 1951, Damascus in 1954, Tunis in 1956, Thessaloniki in 1957, Expo ’70 in Japan (as part of a team), Expo ’76, Expo ’77, Expo ’78 in Montreal, and Expo ’80 in Milan, among others.

In 1966, as part of a team, Mehandjiysky was the chief designer of the Crypt of the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. He also designed the interiors of the Ethnographic Museum in Smolyan (1970), the National Museum of Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship (1973), the Georgi Dimitrov National Museum (1975), and the house of the Union of Bulgarian Artists in Plovdiv (1975), to name but a few. In the later years of his career, Mehandjiysky divided his time between Sofia and Osaka. He often traveled to Japan, where he drew inspiration from Japanese architecture and nature. His first solo exhibition opened on November 13, 1986, in Sofia, and his second was held in 1991 in Osaka.

Dimitre Mehandjiysky was awarded the honorary title of People’s Artist.

From 1976 to 1982, he served as deputy chair of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, and in 1984, he became a member of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria.

Mehandjiysky passed away on October 17, 1999, in Pasadena, California.