An artist is taking a spiritual journey back to the country of his birth with the help of his own experience and the memories he commits to the canvas. But the passage of time has poured oil on troubled waters and the images have receded into an elusive, illusory world – as if submerged in a mirror of water.

In the year of his 50^th birthday Vassilen Vasevski has reaped the fruit of his creative quests, “fruit’ grown as an expat in his long journey to his own self. In 2019 the artist who has been living in Chicago for close to 20 years, put on two retrospective exhibitions in the town where he was born – Sliven, and in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia.

Vassilen Vasilev graduated painting at the art academy in Sofia in 1997 and two years later emigrated to the US. He now teaches at Harold Washington College and the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and takes part in numerous exhibitions in Europe and America. He calls his style “metaphysical romanticism” and his critics say his paintings are full of light.

“Metaphysical” means trying to look beyond what we see around us, at our own desire to discover elements of the inner workings of the world, the artist says. And “romanticism” is the poetic perception of the world – it is reflected most of all in my portraits of women, as well as in my choice of lighter colours. The romantic exists inside most of us as an inner drive and what I have tried to do is to give it substance in my paintings. Working with lighter colours I also try to create a sense of captured light. The metaphysicalsignificance of this moment is the pursuit of better human relationships, that is why I am hoping that people will feel better when they look at my paintings, and realize that beauty and light are all around. But then that is the role of art – to help us look inside the nooks and corners of our soul which we sometimes overlook.

The artist says art has the critical mission of educating and changing people for the better. But is modern art uplifting in the world we are living in?

Art will always be uplifting, it will always help us look towards things beautiful and harmonious, Vassilen Vassevski says. It is true that modern art seems to be going through some kind of crisis but that is only natural, and after the “down” there always comes an “up”. And here I would like to make the connection with Bulgaria – because weр expats sometimes see things more clearly from a distance. Many people have been saying that the country is in permanent crisis, that things are really bad, that the country is going to rack and ruin. But I think these are the last years before a new revival.

The artist is pinning his hopes on the young Bulgarians now studying in the west who would be willing to return home with the knowledge and experience they have accumulated, on two conditionsл

Rule of law is what matters most, people should feel safe and protected by the state, the painter says. Of course, financially they will not find what they have achieved abroad but they will be able to reconnect with the country of their birth. So, firstly rule of law and then a normal existence economically – these are the two most important things that would bring people living in other countries back to Bulgaria.

It is precisely the idea of the (im)possible return that unifies both of his exhibitions in Bulgaria and continues to be in the focus of the artist’s creative pursuits. Meanwhile Vassilen Vasevski is preparing to take part in an exhibition in Germany and also for the spring exposition of the group of Bulgarian artists in Chicago. He is promising an interesting event in Bulgaria as well.

Photos: private library