Born and raised in Varna, Bulgaria, Despina Statelova earned Bachelor Degrees in Art and Psychology from Guilford College, Greensboro, NC.
After moving to New Jersey, for two years, Despina studied under the abstract expressionist Georgette Pettit and was a member of ...
Propelled by the uninhibited foundations of Abstract Expressionism, Despina's art has morphed away from the traditional style.
Born and raised in Varna, Bulgaria, Despina Statelova earned Bachelor Degrees in Art and Psychology from Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. She graduated with high institutional honors, departmental honors, and was awarded outstanding senior in Psychology. Her Senior Honors Art Thesis was in Drawing and Sculpture. Since her graduation in 2003, Despina has been teaching art to emotionally and behaviorally challenged students, K-12, at the Rugby School in Wall, NJ. In 2009, she received an award for Innovations in Special Education from the New Jersey School Boards Association. A certified art teacher, Despina recently became a member of the teaching staff of Inspired Minds Fine Arts School in Lincroft, NJ.
After moving to New Jersey, for two years, Despina studied under the abstract expressionist Georgette Pettit and was a member of the Lyrical Abstract Expressionist Group (2006-08). Between 2009 and 2010, with seven other artists, she was a founder and active participant in Shore Women's Abstract Gallery (SWAG).
Despina is currently a member of the Monmouth County Art Alliance, Red Bank, and the Belmar Arts Council. Her work has been accepted in juried shows and exhibited at galleries and business venues throughout Monmouth County.
Propelled by the uninhibited foundations of Abstract Expressionism, Despina's art has morphed away from the traditional style. The female form, blatant or underlying, has become a staple in her work. Her mixed media paintings, where expressionistic strokes are interwoven with meticulously orchestrated collages and found objects, conjure up ambiguous realities. The familiar and the unexpected intertwine in a delicate balance, leaving the message open-ended.
For most of my life I have been creating with intention, knowing the desired outcome, having an image in mind. I sought perfection, the kind that comes with order, tedious diligence, and meticulous rendition. Venturing into the subjective world of expressionism was my liberation.
Abstract Expressionism presented an unexplored venue for growth where chance and instinct tango back and forth, in tandem, a push and pull, where an accidental brushstroke can set my mind on an intricate journey of internal processing. Color, balance, structure, repetition and variation emerge from my formal training. However, now the only direction and intent is provided by my internal self. I submerge in the subjective world of spaces, lines and objects that I discover and rediscover in my creations. I enhance them, intertwine them, and destroy them, only to bring them back out.
The creative process captivates my whole being, almost as if the painting has its own intent which finds me. Fervent trepidation drives me as I seek closure which - once found - I will know. Layers of paint, acrylic medium and collage accumulate until it is done: perfect. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder, no doubt. My perceived perfection is transient like the painting’s layers. Right now the image is perfect, it fills me up, and I am mesmerized by my creation. A world of wonder engulfs me, transforming the strange into beautiful and the beautiful into strange. Familiar and unexpected intertwine in a delicate balance.
Finally, it’s done – a sense of release, fulfillment, and joy, until the next blank canvas.
