Ivo and Nina Petrovi

Ivo and Nina Petrovi Painting September 9 – September 28, 2025

From September 9 to 28 we present an exhibition that will immerse you in a world of beauty, inspired by the past and refracted through the prism of the present. Filled with references to Secession, Art Deco, Modernism, and Pop Art, the works of Nina and Ivo Petrovi give freedom to thought and imagination. They allow them to soar within the borderland between reality and pure artistic fiction, existing there to visualize the impossible charm of a world that never came to be.

In the space of Nuance Gallery, the two artists once again come together—connected by countless, inseparable lines, both in life and in art.

At first glance, their work appears somewhat similar, or at least as if created in two parallel, yet closely related realities. Both draw inspiration from the aesthetics of the early 20th century, but in fact, each painter’s style finds its roots in distinct artistic movements that only partially overlap.

Ivo Petrovi is inspired by the aesthetics of the Belle Époque. He admires the painting of the Vienna Secession period and values the elegance of Art Deco. Among Ivo’s favorite artists are Gustav Klimt and Tamara de Lempicka. He paints in oils to achieve rich, deep colors. His figures seem to emerge from the decorative background, their faces covered with vivid shadows. This quality in his work recalls the Fauvism of Henri Matisse. Overall, while working in a figurative manner, Ivo stands out with an almost “Cubist” approach to form. His compositions are governed by strict geometry. Every element in the painting has a clearly defined shape. The subject is not shown in its entirety but rather in fragments, as if encouraging the viewer to take their appointed place within the canvas. To create his captivating images, the artist employs a wide variety of elements. Like a skilled director, Ivo stages a colorful performance on the canvas, breathing life into it.

Ivo was born in Pleven and began painting at an early age. He developed his artistic talent first in high school and later at Veliko Tarnovo University, where he studied in the Department of Painting.

Nina’s favorite medium is oil: it has the flexibility she needs and opens many possibilities for self-expression. At the beginning of her creative journey, she experimented extensively with color, trying to understand how it affects human emotions. Thus, color became a means of expressing her own feelings. Later, her passion for color gave way to a focus on composition and detailed rendering of her characters—Nina turned to monochrome. This allowed her to convey deep psychological states, expressed monochromatically on her canvases.

Nina Petrova is inspired by the aesthetics of Art Deco: her works are imbued with memories of that era, filled with both nostalgia and joy. Her paintings transport the viewer a century back, into a world of mystery, femininity, and elegance. Her sources of inspiration are diverse: retro photographs, old films, vintage posters, family stories.

Nina showed artistic ability from childhood. During her school years she practiced woodcarving, and later in university she chose painting as her specialty, forever linking her life with art. Over the years, she refined her skills and developed her own style, characterized by a love of color and boundless optimism.