Ruse, 1952 – Sofia, 2020
Son of the famous theater director Leon Daniel. He studied painting under Dobri Dobrev at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, graduating in 1977. In 1983 he became assistant professor in Ivan Kirkov’s studio at the Academy, was elected associate professor of Painting in 1988, and full professor in 1997. He taught at the Academy until his death, regarded as one of the most significant teachers of recent decades. In 1986, with fellow artists, he co-founded the avant-garde group ‟The City,” with which he exhibited until its dissolution. Primarily a painter, he also worked on monumental murals, stage design, and book illustration. His style was figurative, yet drew upon the broad field of European Modernism, with a postmodern spirit of recomposition and reinterpretation. His works (portraits, landscapes, interiors) are distinguished by strong draftsmanship and daring use of color. At times he embraced Expressionist features, elsewhere Surrealist elements. In his later compositions, major painters of the European avant-garde appeared as protagonists in allegorical works. He was among the most active and prominent Bulgarian artists of recent decades, with constant exhibition and teaching activity at home and abroad. He held many solo shows in Bulgaria and internationally; his last, ‟Meeting Points,” was hosted at Nuance Gallery, Sofia (2018), and later traveled to the Bulgarian Cultural Institutes in Berlin (2019) and Bratislava (2020). He also took part in more than 100 group exhibitions. A notable late project was the retrospective on ‟The City” group at the Academy’s Gallery in Sofia (2019). He curated exhibitions of Bulgarian art, such as ‟Bulgarian Jewish Painters” (Jewish Museum Vienna, 1996), ‟Friends of India” (Sredets Hall, Sofia, 2013), among others. After his death, the retrospective ‟Andrei Daniel: Between Two Eras” was organized at Sofia City Gallery (2020). He received many awards, notably the State Prize ‟Golden Feather” for his contribution to Bulgarian art (1998) and the National Painting Prize ‟Vladimir Dimitrov” (2012). Posthumously, he was awarded the ‟Zahari Zograf National Prize,” the highest distinction for Bulgarian visual artists. His works are today in the National Gallery, Sofia City Gallery, the Peter Ludwig Collection in Aachen, Bratislava City Gallery, and in private collections in Bulgaria and abroad.