Showcase & Discover Creative Work

Born and raised as the son of a painter in the mountain city of Troyan, Bulgaria; Ivan Shopov was always exposed to art from a very young age. Growing up in his mother's atelier, he started drawing when he was six and from that point couldn't stop creating. He pursued his fascination of aesthetics through studying ceramics and applied arts in the art school of his home town, for 5 years as a young adult. During this time he also studied fine art and sculpture. It was through his experimentation in these fields that he tried etching and printing for the first time, discovering his affinity with these graphic techniques. They rapidly became his preferred way to express himself artistically, and he sought to develop his ability in these formats. After finishing at Troyan's art school, Ivan decided to go on to further embed himself in the art world by enrolling at Sofia's National Academy of Arts. This culminated in 2002, when he was selected to be a part of the prestigious Hristo Staikov class. During this time he refined his dry point etching, ink and lithography techniques until finishing the course. Ivan graduated from the Academy of Arts as a Bachelor of Graphic Arts in 2006, with the highest grades possible awarded to him. Concurrently, throughout his studies, he was also working on music. Living in Sofia gave him the opportunity to play to large crowds and spend time developing his sound, until 2005 when he released his first vinyl record. Following the completion of his institutional education, he decided to press ahead with his music and art in order to make a career of the creativity that drives him. Since then, his relentless spirit and energy, in combination with formidable talent, has helped him to become one of the leading figures in underground electronic music. His prolific output has resulted in the release of 50 vinyl records, and travelling worldwide to play across every major continent and throughout Europe. His art crosses over into his music, with Ivan designing many of his own covers and artwork, as well as those of other well-known electronic artists. Read Less