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Born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1975, Rada Tzankova moved to study painting and drawing in Paris at the École Nationale Superieure de Beaux-Arts School. Tzankova’s work has been inspired by her travels in different countries, from Nepal and Togo to Croatia, Greece and the Czech Republic. Andrey Daniel, Atelier Manager in Painting at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, has praised her work, saying, ‘The sense of the unique spirit of place and the atmosphere created with almost minimalist means is remarkable.’ Discussing her piece ‘Épopée’ with Ina Grigorova in 2000, Tzankova revealed the personal nature of her practice: ‘You might think that these are all individual characters,’ she said, pointing to the figures in the work, ‘but the warriors, the fishermen, the children flying kites all represent the same person. They represent my story, all that I’ve been through, all that I’ve dreamt of and all that I’ve loved’. Yet, her works are by no means free of troubling undertones. ‘Drawing has betrayed me,’ she has admitted on one occasion. ‘I wanted to devote my entire life to drawing … but it turns out that when I draw, I can’t move, I can’t participate in life, I lose touch with others. To an extent, I die.’ It is perhaps this combination of joy and aspiration and sadness that writer Nicolas Eliot highlights when he writes of the figures that people her works, ‘When looking at them, I often ask myself if I’m in Paradise or Hell, before Rada reminds me that I’m simply on earth’. In addition to her paintings and drawings. Tzankova has also illustrated several books of poetry and recipes. Sources include: Text by Ina Grigorova in ´Egoist´, May 2000