GEORGI STAMBOLIYSKI
was born in Vratsa (Bulgaria) on May 6.1931. His mother, Radka, was a seamstress and his father a salesman for the Singer sewing machines. The parents were divorced shortly after his birth and he spent his childhood with his grandmother, Costa Dina, in Vratsa, where he attended 4 years of primary school and 3 years of secondary school.
At the age of 14, Georgi moved to Sofia to live with his mother where he attended High School for the next 5 years. After graduation, he prepared to apply to enroll at the Art Academy and at the same time engaged himself working as a cartoonist in Sofia.
In 1951 he entered the Academy and studied under Professor Poplilov‘s classes. Georgi won a competition sponsored by the Bulgarian Satirical Communist Magazine Starschel (Hornet) and was then employed by them as a cartoonist, until 1957. Through this job he was able to support himself and pay for his studies. In 1956, he produced the stage plans for the ballet theater in Sofia.
In 1957 he graduated from the Art Academy with distinction. Unfortunately, he was not able to deliver his last dissertation paper on Marxism/Leninism because he fled to the West before the final exam and therefore did not receive his Graduation Certificate.
As a cartoonist for the newspaper, working with journalists, he was able to avoid the Press Restriction Laws and have access to information from the West that was otherwise censured by the government. Therefore, he became very well informed of the development of Art and Politics of the West. His interest for the Graphic Art used in the West brought him in strong conflict with the Youth Organization in which he was enlisted (obligatory membership) and himself. He states that he would not be able to produce art otherwise.
The situation in Bulgaria at that time was very tense due to the rebellion in Hungary. Everyone who did not follow the guidelines of socialism in Art and Politics was suspected to be an enemy of Socialism. Georgi’s longing to be free of these limitations grew ever more and after he faced open differences with editorial guidelines, it became clear to him that he should flee at the first possible opportunity.
In March of 1958 the opportunity arose. Georgi was included in the Commerce Delegation for the Leipzig Fair. Due to a short delegation trip to East Berlin, he had the opportunity to cross to the West.
Leaving from Marienfeld, he went on to Frankfurt am Main. After short stays in Munich and Paris he established himself in the Frankfurt/Main area.
For a short while he worked as a graphic artist in the advertising department for the Neckermann Group. From 1959 to 1973 he had an exclusive contract as a freelancer for the Advertising Agency McCain Erikson World Group. Since then, worked as a freelance graphic artist and Product Designer.
Georgi was married in 1962 and from this marriage he had two sons. He established himself in Rohrbach in 1978. In 1986 he divorced and after this date worked exclusively for himself. In 1989 he entered a new relationship with his current wife, Gerlinde.
Due to an accident in 2013, he is tied to a wheelchair, which unfortunately reduced his activities.
Contemporaries:
President from 1945 -‐1989 Todor Schiwkow
Artists at his time in Bulgaria
- Whale (like the fish, young man from Vratsa) inspired Georgi to draw
- Tenjo Pindarev Stojan Dukov ( Tatscho ), school friend
Works done for advertising firms and private contracts include the following firms:
- Sinalco
- Barilla
- Opel – Opel Jahrbuch 2004/Automobil Chronics 2
- Deutsche Bahn
- Nesquik
- WMF
- McCain
- Erikson Agency in Frankfurt
- Heumann & Ogilvy Agency
Exibition at Galerie Gunhild Mueller Gauff in Koenigstein
