Anton Terziev
personal portfolio

Liquidation Exhibition (2004)

Долните творби са част от „Ликвидация” / “Liquidation“ - самостоятелна изложба на Антон Терзиев и връчване на Годишната награда за дебют на млад художник, присъдена от Руен Руенов, радиопредаването „Пикник на Везувий”, радио RFI, на Антон Терзиев , Френски културен институт, София, 2004

"Изкуството е политика представена в символична форма, поради това, че всяка мисъл, а оттам и нейното представяне чрез изкуството, е идеологическа. Използвам фрагментацията, парадоксът и иронията като комуникативен подход. Породената вътрешна нестабилност в картините ми, между означавано и означавaщо, осуетява евентуалната фиксирана или привилегирована интерпретация на образа. Естетическата форма не е цел. Картините в изложбата "Ликвидация": "Действай по инстинкт" ,"Страхът е нашият враг" и "Православно Християнство" са обединени от лаконичната си знаковост, целяща да извика моментална асоциативна реакция. В другите си картини като "Everyone loves to get apllause", "Изяж я с приятели", "Сега с още по-добър шоколадов вкус" и "Get this fееling"привличам вниманието върху манипулативните процеси съществуващи на всички нива в обществото. Противопоставянето на образ и текст създава нови смисли.

В "Ликвидация" използвам значенията, които това понятие може да има в буквален и преносен смисъл. Представям картините в тази изложба като стока за разпродажба, отказвайки да се заигравам с естетизирането им, така присъщо за повечето художници в България."

 

R U Ready - Size: 80 x 100 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2002. Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of Art Center 12, Sofia
Last shown: 2008 IMAGINE solo exhibition – Art Center 12, Sofia
Courtesy of Gallery 33 Varna

 

Eat Her With Friends - Size: 82 x 100 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2002

after unknown fashion magazine photography
shown at Nylon Gallery, Istanbul, 2003, Discrimination exhibition - curator Vihra Pesheva

Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of Ed Mattinian

In Eat Her With Friends, Anton Terziev stages a raw confrontation with the commodification of female bodies. A lone woman sprawled atop a rough-hewn cross-like log—her skin slick with exaggerated highlights of pinks and whites—becomes both spectacle and sacrifice in a world driven by voyeurism. The cropping of her limbs and the close vantage point feel intrusive, as if we’ve been granted unauthorized access to a private moment framed for consumption.

Terziev’s impasto technique—thick, visceral strokes that catch the light—echoes the sensational gloss of glossy magazine spreads and viral media. Beneath the figure, a block of solid red stamped with Cyrillic letters (“Eat Her With Friends”) reads like a neon billboard, underscoring the painting’s indictment: sex, once intimate, has been repackaged into primal bait for mass appetites. By turning her body into landscape and text into slogan, Terziev spotlights the violence inherent in turning flesh into fodder—and reminds us that every glance risks complicity in exploitation.

 

Everyone Loves To Get Applause I - Size: 120 x 100 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2002. Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of the artist

after Stiliyan Petrov's photography image- a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and joined Celtic from CSKA Sofia in 1999

In seria with Everyone Loves To Get Applause II

Проект за съвременно българско изкуство на галерия Ракурси в градска среда, Метростанция Васил Левски, София, 2019
Photo: © the artist

 

Everyone Loves To Get Applause II - Size: 50 x 70 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2002 Photo: © the artist

It was courtesy of Ruen Ruenov - art historian and critic, founder of Sofia Underground fest till his sudden unexpected death 14.12.2011. Current owner unknown. Year 2017 with a little changes and with a lot of differences I've made a remake of my own forever lost original painting.

after Mike Tyson's photography image

 

My Baby Is A Little Terror - Size: 80 x 59 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2002 Photo: © the artist
Shown at Donumenta. Ars danubiana, Regensburg, 2005

Последно показана в изложбата „Колекционерът-импровизатор“, Дом на културата „Борис Христов”, 2018

Anton Terziev’s My Baby Is A Little Terror is a multifaceted early oil painting that plays on the dual meanings of "terror"—evoking both the sense of violent threat and the image of a mischievous, unruly child. In this work, the domestic scene is tinged with dark humor and latent danger. On one level, the title suggests an explosive, disruptive force lurking beneath the veneer of everyday life, while on another, it hints at the capricious, uncontrollable nature often attributed to a misbehaving child.

The painting’s layered imagery captures the complex dynamics of modern relationships and role-playing. The interplay of whimsical elements with hints of underlying violence or chaos serves as a metaphor for escapism and the anxiety of living on the edge of comfort. Terziev’s clever juxtaposition of innocence with menace invites viewers to reconsider the fine line between playful defiance and the potential for real harm, encapsulating the ambivalence and multifarious challenges of contemporary existence.

Nikolai Nedelchev collection

The etching print below from 2000 shares the same title:

My Baby Is A Little Terror се преобрази и в щампа за комерсиални цели в сайта за тениски с щампи branditi.com

Fear Is The Enemy - oil on canvas. Size: 200 x 107 cm, Anton Terziev, 2003. Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of the artist

Anton Terziev’s Fear Is The Enemy thrusts a one-handed motorcycle rider—clad in red-and-black gear—into a void of pure black, distilling resilience and daring into a single, iconic image. The frontal, chiaroscuro-inspired composition isolates the figure, whose missing hand and controlled grip on the machine become a powerful testament to human adaptability.

Vibrant reds evoke energy, danger, and courage, while the yellow-visored helmet conceals identity, transforming the rider into an archetype of determination. By stripping away context, Terziev turns fear itself into the enemy—suggesting that our greatest barrier is often the doubt we carry, not the risks we face.

Melding precise oil technique with bold, graphic outlines, the painting bridges classical drama and contemporary visual language. It reframes disability not as limitation but as a source of innovation and grit, inviting viewers to confront their own limits and embrace the fearless act of defiance against inner darkness.

 

Act On Instinct -  Size: 180 x 110, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2003. Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of the artist

after Mattias Jonson's photography image

Terziev’s Act on Instinct shrinks the pageantry of sport to its most primal edge: a Swedish footballer, mid-stride in a vivid yellow jersey, grips a pistol instead of a ball against a void-black backdrop edged in neon pink. This jarring swap—blade-like realism paired with pop-art outlines—asks us to confront how easily competitive drive can slip into outright aggression. By marrying athletic iconography with the language of violence, Terziev exposes the hidden instinct that underlies both heroism and harm.

Installation view: IMAGINE solo show, Art Center, Sofia, 2008

 

Now With More Better Chocolate Taste - Size: 100 x 70 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2004. Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of the artist

after Naomi Campbell's photography image

shown at Nylon Gallery, Istanbul, 2003, Discrimination exhibition - curator Vihra Pesheva

Last participation at Just Love exhibition at Arossita Gallery,  2021, curated by JPank

Anton Terziev’s Now With More Better Chocolate Taste cleverly merges the visual language of glossy advertising with the tactile richness of oil painting to confront consumerist ideals and the commodification of women’s bodies. By juxtaposing a glamorous magazine image with the punchy slogan, Terziev underscores how lifestyle culture often reduces human identity to a marketable product. The vibrant, almost tongue-in-cheek use of text and the iconic figure—borrowed from a mass-media cover—highlight both the allure and the critique: beauty is packaged and sold, while the individual becomes a glossy surface. This tension between seduction and satire ultimately invites viewers to question the power structures and commercial impulses that shape our visual landscape.

 

Orthodox Christianity - Size: 200 x 107 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2003 Photo: © the artist

After popular outdoor ad by Bulgarian alcohol brand. Seen on billboard in Sofia. Private collection in the USA
Освен в соло изложбата Ликвидация 2004 картината е участвала в изложбaта Mtel Awards for Contemporary art, Plovdiv, BG, 2007, curated by Irina Batkova

Показана последно в изложбата Гонене на зли духове (Призраците са сред нас), галерия "Райко Алексиев", 7 февруари 2018, курирана от Елена Панайотова

Anton Terziev’s Orthodox Christianity confronts the viewer with a life-size portrait of a bearded cleric rendered in oil against a flat, pitch-black field. The figure is defined by a neon-pink outline—reminiscent of commercial signage—which isolates him from any traditional iconographic setting. In his outstretched hand he holds a bottle whose label mimics mass-market branding, collapsing the distinction between sacral ritual and consumer ritual.

Technically, the painting combines meticulously modeled flesh tones and fabric folds with the graphic precision of advertising art: the priest’s rosacea-tinged skin and deeply carved beard contrast sharply with the synthetic glow of the outline. Conceptually, Terziev offers a pointed critique of contemporary Christianity’s entanglement with spectacle and commodification. By framing the clergy as a walking billboard, he suggests that faith has become another product in the marketplace—its authority now measured by visibility and marketing appeal rather than spiritual substance.

 

Right Here, Right Now - Size: 104 x 150 cm, oil on canvas, Anton Terziev, 2002. Photo: © the artist. Courtesy of the artist

Anton Terziev’s Right Here Right Now presents an upside-down cockpit hovering above the Earth. Executed in oil, the work balances detailed realism—the reflective surface of the canopy and the pilot’s helmet rendered in red—with a softened, atmospheric treatment of the landscape below, where highways intersect against a verdant ground.

By inverting the usual vantage point, the painting speaks to contemporary anxiety and the need for coping strategies. The muted palette of greens and charcoals, contrasted with the pilot’s bright visor, underscores a tension between agitation and calm. As a meditation on escapism, the composition encourages the viewer to momentarily set aside daily worries, shifting perspective to find relief and renewed presence in the here and now.

 

The Big Game - Size: 60 x 45 cm, oil and wax on canvas, Anton Terziev, 12. 2001 Photo: © the artist
Shown at Donumenta. Ars danubiana, Regensburg, 2005
Featured at 50 international emerging artists, Contemporary annual magazine 2006

Nikolai Nedelchev collection

Живописта на Антон Терзиев, както и работите на редица художници със сходни настроения са ярко доказателство за съществените промени в българското изкуство в годините на прехода и за един от качествено различните нови модели, чрез които то се изразява. Той е типичен художник за своето поколение и същевременно се откроява с изразителността на творбите си.