Artist Profile Vassilina Dikidjieva

Dikidjieva’s rhythmic, painterly strokes explore the dialogue between cities and souls.

Artist Statement

My recent paintings are focused on the connection between a Metropolis and its people and their impact on each other. As much as the people are part of the city, the city is also part of them. They project onto the city their aspirations, styles, and ideas, while the city could provide inspiration or disappointment, success or failure, be a friend or an enemy. It is a meeting place of cultures and knowledge where past and present meet. According to Aristotle, the Metropolis is a place where people live together for a noble goal. At the same time for many of them the city is just a dream and they remain a shadow, a reflection, a disappearing image on a shiny building surfaces or invisible figures in the city fabric.

Artist Biography

I was born in Bulgaria. I graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARHI) which is a successor of the famous VKHUTEMAS (Higher Art and Technical Studios) internationally acclaimed architectural and art school which together with the German Bauhaus school formed the foundations of world architecture and design of the twentieth century. During my higher education at MARHI, I studied extensively drawing, ink washes, graphics, painting, model building, sculpture and other art techniques in addition to the architectural subjects. The ability to draw was considered a foundation of the plastic arts and students were encouraged to experiment with color and form, and understand the principles of spacial composition.

Throughout my career as a professional architect, I worked in Bulgaria, Ethiopia, and New York. I currently live and work in New Jersey, USA.