MIMI DOBREVA
SUMMER TIME
painting
1-14.10.2026
‘Summer time and the living is easy…’
If I had to describe Mimi Dobreva’s painting in a single word, it would be music. A melody woven from silence, rhythms of colour. A harmonious melody, flowing naturally like light, layering gently like clouds. In her paintings, the frenzied passage of time pauses and listens. It curls up like a big green dog and lies still beside the artist’s chair; she loves to paint from nature. Mimi Dobreva contemplates the beauty of the world – so generously bestowed upon us – quietly, devotedly and with respect, though not everyone possesses the senses and sensitivity to appreciate it. The artist does not merely recreate the beauty of nature; she creates a new beauty of her own. A unique one. It contains and holds at bay her own demons, which watch over us, lurking in the shadows. As used in Mimi Dobreva’s art, ‘beauty’ is not a disturbingly saccharine and hollow word. In fact, beauty is the sole reason for the existence of these paintings. They always originate from a very specific place and time, preserved in the artist’s drawings and memories, so that they reach us not as banal landscapes of seas, clouds and gardens, but as windows to that magical space where it is always summer and life is light and authentic.
Maria Landova, September 2026
Mimi Dobreva graduated in painting from the National Academy of Arts in the renowned class of Prof. Dobri Dobrev in 1977. She has held dozens of solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous art projects in Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Croatia and elsewhere. 2014 – Painting Award in the Allianz Bulgaria – Sofia Awards competition; 2011 – Painting Award – ‘Salon 2011’, ‘Shipka 6’ Gallery, Sofia; 1993 – Painting Award – OHI Kyustendil; 1993 – Specialisation at the Cité des Arts, Paris, France.
In 2024, at the ‘Arte’ Gallery, we opened the exhibition ‘Following the Landscape’, part of the project ‘STEPS THROUGH TIME – GENERATIONS’. At that time, we presented works by Prof. Dobri Dobrev and his students Milko Bozhkov and Mimi Dobreva. The exhibition proved to be a landmark event in the gallery’s programme. It was also our first encounter with the work of Mimi Dobreva at ‘Arte’ – an artist whom we hold in high regard and always welcome with great pleasure. Today, we are delighted to present to our audience a solo exhibition of magnificent landscape paintings. They are summery, masterful and rich in the green hues that are Mimi’s trademark, making her works instantly recognisable to us all.
Come and join us on this exciting journey into the delicate and magical world of Mimi Dobreva!















































































































