Heavy Burden   Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas   39.5" x 39.5"

Bulgarian artist Z. Todorova creates mixed media paintings that explore both the figurative and the abstract to delve into the heart of the human experience and our place on this planet. Infusing her work with a proliferation of metaphors and symbols, she investigates the inseparable connection between Earth and humanity, the “we” that has come to define what we are. For Todorova, this extends beyond a surface relationship to the spirit that lies behind the mask we all wear: the essence of our being versus the face we wish to show the world, and “the inseparable symbiosis of man connected to the Earth.”

In Todorova’s paintings, figural silhouettes configured in expressionist poses are set against earthy backgrounds in warm tones such as rust, orange, and ochre. With a strong emphasis on form, she combines a variety of different materials, techniques, and styles to construct her “people without faces.” Each work is intended to elicit a response from the viewer, to inspire them to think about who they are and what they really want from life — because, in the end, Todorova reminds us, we are all connected.