Orlin Mantchev is a Bulgarian born, Canadian multidisciplinary artist. He graduated with a MFA in painting from Nicolai Pavlovich Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia. Having already begun to establish a career in Europe, he emigrated in 1990 and has since then called Canada home.
Orlin’s art emerges from a profound commitment to meditative practice. His inspiration is rooted in an ongoing exploration of the limitless ways in which the physical world represents and is shaped by the forces of nature. His compositions use minimal elements - perforations, dots, circles and lines - to capture the micro and macro relationships that constitute the infinite abundance of the shared web of life.
In the painting process, he breathes life into the interrelatedness of the separate components such that they form a new living entity when animated by the living and loving attention of the viewer. The artwork is an invitation: the viewer truly completes the work in real time with their attention by entering into a visual contemplative experience.
A remarkable fusion of art, science and spirituality helps Orlin generate his versatile form-explorations which can be classified into the familiar genres of sacred geometry (mandalas), geometric and biomorphic abstracts, highly realistic portraits, florals, landscapes and still lifes, even as they push the boundaries of these conventional categories.
His paintings have been widely exhibited and appreciated in many private and public collections in Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Montreal, New York, Sofia, St. John’s, and Toronto. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Art Bank of Canada and the National Gallery of Bulgaria.
