site.btaArtist Atanas Matsurev Marks 50th Birthday and 30 Years of Artistic Work with Exhibition in Sofia

Bulgarian artist Atanas Matsurev is celebrating his 50th birthday and 30 years of creative activity with the exhibition “The Middle of Summer”, which runs from 22 October to 9 November at the Nuance Gallery in Sofia. The show presents works in several techniques, including watercolour, monotype, drypoint, sepia, silverpoint, and pencil.

Atanas Matsurev was born in 1975 in the town of Bansko. He graduated in 1994 from a technical school for woodcarving and interior design but is self-taught in painting. Since the late 1990s he has lived and worked in Sofia. His work focuses mainly on watercolour, with subjects ranging from landscapes and still lifes to portraits.

Matsurev is a member of the American Watercolor Society and of the International Masters of Watercolor Alliance, where he represents Bulgaria. Over the past three decades he has held more than 20 solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad. His works are part of private collections and galleries in countries including Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Norway, France, Hungary, Italy, China, Russia, Germany, and the United States.

The artist has received numerous international distinctions. He won a gold prize from the U.S. magazine Artists for his painting Home in the publication’s 39th annual awards, as well as a gold prize at the Rockwell International Watercolour Competition in Canada for Stones and Salt Water. Matsurev also received first place in the International Watercolour Contest in Izmir, Turkey, and in 2018 was awarded first prize at the Premio Biennale Internazionale “Marche d’Acqua” in Fabriano, Italy. His works have been recognized in China and other countries for excellence in watercolour.