“Drawing chose me and I have followed it all my life.”
The Echoes of Color: Where Childhood Wonder Meets Abstract Vision
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Eli Gerasimova is a contemporary abstract painter whose creative path began in early childhood and has evolved into a vibrant professional journey marked by curiosity, courage, and instinctive innovation. Surrounded by an artistic household—her mother a musician and producer, her father a photographer—Gerasimova was immersed from a young age in a world where creativity was a way of life. Her formative years were filled with drawing, ballet, and theatrical exploration, laying the foundation for her unique artistic style. Over the years, she has refined her visual language into a distinctive expression rooted in abstract forms and vivid color stories. Today, her paintings resonate with an inner luminosity that speaks to both personal memory and universal emotion.
Gerasimova’s academic path enriched her creative fluency. After completing her studies at St. Luke’s High School of Applied Arts with a focus on Design, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in Scenography and Contemporary Theater Forms at the New Bulgarian University. She later earned a master’s degree in Pedagogy and the Social Format of Fine Arts from Southwestern University “Neofit Rilski.” These academic achievements provided her with a multifaceted understanding of visual storytelling, theater aesthetics, and pedagogical methods, which all play significant roles in her practice today. Her passion for scenography continues to influence the compositional rhythm of her canvases, often mirroring the atmosphere and depth of a stage set while maintaining the spontaneity of abstraction.
Beyond the canvas, Gerasimova’s work has been embraced both in Bulgaria and abroad. She has presented seven solo exhibitions—five in Bulgaria and two in Italy—each representing a different stage of her evolving abstract language. Her participation in international group shows, such as the inaugural exhibition at Toolip ART Gallery in Budapest, showcases her growing presence on the European art scene. Her paintings now reside in private collections and public institutions, a testament to her ability to captivate diverse audiences. In parallel with her artistic career, she has also nurtured a gift for teaching, sharing her passion with children and helping ignite their imaginative instincts. Through this educational role, she fosters a love for visual expression, passing on her belief that art is a portal to self-discovery and joy.
Eli Gerasimova: Painting Inner Light Through Abstract Freedom
The essence of Eli Gerasimova’s work lies in her exploration of emotion through abstraction, where color becomes language and light becomes metaphor. She describes her paintings as fairy tales—ethereal, sunlit narratives through which viewers are invited to find their own inner landscapes, spiritual characters, and reflections of the life around them. This storytelling impulse is not bound by literal representation but unfolds in visual textures, chromatic contrasts, and a lyrical sense of space. Her compositions often feel like visual scores—improvised yet precise—inviting interpretation while pulsing with intentional energy. Her approach blends freedom of gesture with a deep respect for balance and harmony, allowing intuition and structure to co-exist in meaningful dialogue.
Central to Gerasimova’s process is her unique use of mixed media and collage. Incorporating acrylics, fabric patterns, buttons, metal pieces, and hand-formed clay reliefs, she constructs tactile surfaces that engage both the eye and the hand. These layered materials lend her work a sculptural quality that challenges the flatness typically associated with painting. The interplay of diverse textures and forms offers an immersive experience, bridging the sensory with the spiritual. By combining unexpected elements in dynamic compositions, she emphasizes the importance of risk, contrast, and transformation—concepts that reflect not only her visual interests but also her personal philosophy as an artist and educator.
Her creative sessions are shaped by ambiance and emotion, often unfolding in the quiet hours of the evening within the studio in her home. Music plays a pivotal role in these moments, providing the emotional atmosphere that fuels her brushwork. This practice is deeply connected to her internal rhythm and intuitive impulses. The presence of her two daughters—one a teenager, the other a toddler—adds a layer of joy, chaos, and inspiration to her environment. Her home doubles as a creative playground, filled with art materials, easels, and spontaneous artistic messes. This intermingling of family life and artistry gives her paintings an authenticity that reflects lived experience, infused with both maternal warmth and visionary spark.
Fragments of Theater, Movement, and Memory
Eli Gerasimova’s artistry is not confined to canvas alone. Her background in scenography and her enduring love for theater and dance continue to shape the conceptual undercurrents of her visual language. From a young age, she was drawn to modern ballet, dedicating nearly a decade to movement-based performance. Theater followed as a profound passion, influencing how she approaches the arrangement of space, light, and narrative in her compositions. The performative elements of theater, especially its power to evoke emotion through abstract staging and symbolic design, are echoed in her visual compositions. Her canvases often suggest dramatic arcs and emotional crescendos, inviting viewers to engage not just visually, but emotionally and psychologically.
This theatrical sensibility is evident in her exhibitions, which are conceived as immersive experiences rather than static displays. Her 2025 solo exhibition Journey, held at the Orpheus Center for Self-Knowledge in Sofia, encapsulated this approach with its motto “A journey through the fantasy of abstract art!”—an invitation into a parallel world shaped by light, memory, and imagination. Similarly, her two Rome exhibitions in 2024, titled Immaginare… and Immaginare II, were not simply showcases of visual art but conceptual environments that urged introspection and imaginative interpretation. These exhibitions highlighted her ability to construct thematic continuity while maintaining stylistic freedom, offering a space where abstraction becomes a mirror for internal exploration.
Gerasimova’s integration of personal memory with public presentation gives her exhibitions a uniquely intimate quality. Her early fascination with cutting shapes from paper and drawing on miniature formats has matured into a full-scale commitment to constructing new visual worlds. Even her earliest creative acts—like working with bunny-shaped scissors at age four—resonate in the detailed layering and playfulness of her current works. This continuity of memory fuels her current practice and connects her past to her present. Each painting becomes a stage, each material an actor, and each hue a mood—performing together in silent harmony, speaking to viewers across borders, time, and language.
Eli Gerasimova: Toward New Collaborations and Artistic Crossroads
Although Eli Gerasimova has already achieved notable recognition through solo exhibitions and international invitations, she envisions a future shaped by collaboration and creative synergy. Her artistic growth is fueled not just by solitary exploration, but by her openness to dialogue and shared vision. She dreams of developing group projects alongside like-minded artists, where contrasting styles and perspectives can merge into unified expressions. For Gerasimova, art is not a solitary climb but a collective ascent, one where partnerships enrich both process and outcome. She believes that authentic collaboration can serve as a powerful catalyst for innovation, enabling new narratives and techniques to emerge through shared effort.
Her desire to participate in joint exhibitions stems from her experience in Budapest, where she was one of 46 international artists invited to inaugurate the new Toolip ART Gallery in 2024. That experience affirmed her belief in the power of global artistic exchange, highlighting how diverse interpretations of abstraction can coexist and inspire one another. She sees such gatherings not just as exhibitions, but as creative laboratories—spaces where aesthetic boundaries are tested and expanded. Whether through curating joint showcases or engaging in collaborative installations, Gerasimova aims to create opportunities that blend individual expression with collective insight.
Looking ahead, she remains committed to fostering creativity in both public and private spheres. Her dual identity as artist and teacher continues to evolve, with each role informing the other. She understands that cultivating the next generation of artists is as crucial as producing her own work, and she brings this philosophy into both her studio and classroom. The future she envisions is one where artistic communities grow through mutual respect, shared experience, and a love of exploration. With a foundation rooted in family, memory, and artistic curiosity, Eli Gerasimova is poised not only to deepen her own creative journey but also to illuminate the paths of others walking beside her.
