Butterfly.Within Temptation. (2019) Painting by Alfia Kircheva

Alfia Kircheva is a Bulgarian contemporary artist, born in 1978 in Moscow, where she received her education as a painting teacher. In 2003, the artist migrated to Bulgaria. Since completing her professional training, Alfia has been participating in many regional and international exhibitions. Exhibitions took place in Russia, France, Canada, Italy, and Bulgaria. One of her paintings is permanently displayed in the State Ethnographical Museum in Varna, Bulgaria. She is a member and one of the founders of the Commonwealth of Female Artists in Bulgaria. Alfia works in a variety of techniques - watercolor, graphics, textiles and oil painting. Currently, Alfia is engaged in teaching painting, interior design and social activities related to the Commonwealth of Female Artists, which she runs.

A human being is the most valuable and complex thing in the Universe. An individual's feelings are not always clear to them. Through my art I want to touch a person’s deepest feelings and desires that they may not be aware of, or that societal norms did not allow them to discover them in themselves.

Through the image of a person, I show his inner world. By exposing a person, I expose his soul. I go from external to internal, opening the darkest corners of their subconscious, their  true, deep desires hidden behind social norms. What is indecent to talk about – fethish,   passion, imperfection.

An artist is like a doctor. There is no shame in undressing in front of them. They heal your soul, show you your pain and reconcile you with it. The pain becomes part of your personality.

Freedom is when you can be yourself, look inside yourself, find your fears and accept them. Rejection creates internal conflict.

I am inspired by a huge layer of realistic art, from Renaissance to Post-Impressionism. The tenderness of Botticelli, the expressiveness of Rubens, the wisdom of El Greco and the mysticism of Gauguin – these are my compasses in art.

During my early creative period, I became interested in East Asian spiritual practices and they still influence my creativity. They brought me the understanding that a person cannot have only light or only dark in them. It’s the interaction of darkness and light that gives rise to the complex human essence.

I also give special importance to color theory. In my paintings predominate soothing blue and turquoise shades and dark tones, entering the viewer into a state of psychoanalysis.

Sometimes I use elements of surrealism to blur the line between reality and dream, reminding the viewer of the subjectivity of perception of the world.

Having gone through the academic school of painting, I became an adept of classical techniques of expression – oil painting, graphics and watercolours. Continuing the traditions of the old masters and maintaining my unique style, I want to show the world my interpretation of  humanism.

• Nationality: BULGARIA
• Date of birth : 1978
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Bulgarian Artists