Art Niko is a small online art family legacy gallery, born of the concept to pass our family legacy art to people who love art. The legacy art was created over 50 years ago by our father who was one of the remarkable Bulgarian artist for his time but unfortunately he is no longer alive. However, his art is still living and he passed his creativity down to his daughter Romina and son Miro who are also artists and have a passion for creating outstanding abstract geometric and fashion illustrative art. 

Nikolay's Story

Nikolay Nikolov  belongs to a new distinct generation of artists who emerged on the Bulgarian art scene in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Those artists brought a different and more modern way of expression that defied the aesthetic norms of the existing totalitarian culture at the time. Having completed his higher education at the Veliko Turnovo University in Graphic Art, Nikolov was fortunate to join the best existing artistic community of the Atelier Centre Vulcan (meaning the God of fire and craftsmanship in ancient Roman mythology) located in the former factory Vulcan in the beautiful seaside city of Varna. In time those artists became well known for their innovative approach to art, daring ideas, and exceptional professionalism.  In the 1980s, Nikolay Nikolov creates mainly black and white etchings that depict compositions inhabited by human figures, those of animals as well as of symbolic objects. The imagery of the compositions is further enhanced by swirling movement and plastic contrasts that help to create deeply expressive and dominant atmospheric presence. Nikolov’s works exemplify the artist’s possession of impeccable draftsmanship, striking linear language and innate expression of rich metamorphoses, achieved through the mediums of the art of graphics. Towards the 1990s, Nikolov’s artistic style undergoes a visible change. Whilst his graphics continue to dwell on human, social and natural relations, the context becomes more universal and that he expresses in a purely abstract-geometric manner.  

Precise and rationally structured images constitute the centrepiece of fascinating compositions. This kind of distinct constructivism is linked to a philosophic symbolism that reflects on phenomena of the human condition such as clashes of hierarchies, power and dominance, as well as relationships, loneliness and beyond. The pictorial space becomes liberated and open whereas the graphic forms are crystal clear in manifestation and sharp, bright and definitive in execution. Notwithstanding, distant analogies can be found with the purity, symbolism and figurative power of Japanese graphics.  In fact, with his distinct stylistic approach and plastic expression Nikolay Nikolov not only stands out, but he has no analogue in the Bulgarian graphics art.More than that, Nikolov was able to apply this adopted artistic manner of work in the creation of some magnificent drawings in tempera, watercolour and ink. They are rich in colour intensity and succeed in conveying spontaneous feeling with free painterly manner. Indeed, the artist often combines geometric shapes with natural plant elements thus achieving a particular conceptual symbiosis between the natural living environment and the world of abstraction.Post-2000, Nikolov made some large-format drawings (2x3m) using oil pastels. The artist’s visual language becomes freer and more expressive, clearly abandoning the previous strict geometrical form of composition and expression. In these works, as the sonorous colour joins in with the strong emotional impulse, it allows the emergence of the abstract-expressionist spirit. These traits become further embedded in Nikolov’s digital works, which are noteworthy with their distinct picturesque harmonies, and to them he has devoted much attention and energy.   In his art, this exceptional artist has always demonstrated his strong inclination towards innovative, contemporary expression. Erudite and inquisitive, Nikolay Nikolov was a restless and searching personality that carried an intellectual revolt against the conservative and conventional forms of art. And it is Nikolov’s remarkable artistic talent that places him high in the creative hierarchy of contemporary Bulgarian art.

Rumen Serafimov, Art critic

Miro's Story

MiroslavNikolov or Miro for short, is Nikolay’s son who started his journey in art at an early age when he enrolled at Varna Art School. After his graduation he continued to develop his distinct art style in ink drawing that has resulted in the creation of many dynamic art compositions. Miro is keen to express his creative ideas on the go, so that the initially impulsive sketches on small pieces of paper can then be developed into unique compositions of lines and, geometric shapes in ink or paint splashes.

Romina's Story

Romina belongs to the generation of London digital artists. Born and raised in Bulgaria, like her brother Miro, Romina too showed a creative disposition at an early age, with her father at her side.  After finishing the National School of Arts “Dobri Hristov”, Varna, she pursued her higher education in Art and Design at Birmingham City University, United Kingdom, graduating in 2013.  Since moving to London, Romina has worked extensively in the field of digital art and design for several companies based in the UK. By taking inspiration from traditional drawing in pencil, ink and watercolour and guided by her motto “beauty from inside out” she continues to explore collage and digital art. Romina’s compositions combine a touch of quirky elegance with female individuality.