Hristo Tanev was born on 21 September 1943 in Stara Zagora. He graduated the “St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo – specialty “wall-painting” in the class of Professor Nikola Gelov. His teachers were the famous Bulgarian artists Professor Vasil Stoylov and Professor Nikola Kozhuharov. In 1970 he defended with honors his diploma work – Multi figures monumental composition "Thracian motives", made with the most ancient wall-painting technology – wet fresco. He was awarded with the university’s honorary degree and prize money. He works mostly in the field of interior design, architecture, industrial and graphic design, and advertising. The emblems and flags of Stara Zagora, Dimitrovgrad, Chirpan and Galabovo are his work. He created more than 500 trade marks for firms, organizations and new productions.
Since 1972 till 1986 Hristo Tanev participated in almost all regional and national exhibitions for paintings, portraits, figural compositions, landscapes and still lives. He presented his personal exhibitions of paintings in Sofia. 1976 - Gabrovo 1980 - Maglizh 1984 - Dobrich 1987 - Pomorie 1988 - Dimitrovgrad 1996 - Haskovo 1997 - Tryavna 1998 - Varna 1999 - Gabrovo 2000 – Radnevo and Power Plant "M. Iztok-3” 2001 - Haskovo 2002 – Stara Zagora
In 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2003 he participated in exhibitions in Moscow, Ulan Bator, Berlin, Oslo, Bucharest, Samara, Katowice, Legntse etc. Some of his works are property of the National Art Gallery in Sofia, Moscow Gallery “A. S. Pushkin” and another 32 state galleries in the country and abroad. His paintings are property of many private collections in Bulgaria, USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, Япония, Kuwait, Mongolia, and South Africa. Since 04.10.2003 Hristo Tanev has his own gallery for fine arts “ALBA-Avitohol” on 51 Metropolit Methodi Kusev bul., Stara Zagora. Since 1976 he’s a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists and since 1989 of the Association of plastic arts in UNESCO. In the last ten years, Hristo Tanev extends his research in the field of heraldry and semiotics. Steadily and systematically he reveals the symbols of the Bulgarian identity. In result he achieves discoveries that change his conceptions regarding the historical processes and different nations’ parts. In 1997 Hristo Tanev together with a team of specialists and explorers published the book “The Bulgarian ego and national symbols”. The book points out the extraordinary work of Constantine Cyril who managed to revitalize, systematize and generalize through the Glagolitic alphabet the ancient knowledge for the world connected to the Bulgarian cosmogony, language and traditions. Due to the enormous public interest, his book has goon through 3 editions. In many of his publications he defends with convincing arguments and examples the theory that in the base of the European symbolic-heraldic culture stands the wisdom of our ancestors – Thracians, Bulgarians and Slavs. Undeniable proof for this is the KEY-MODULE found by Bulgarian scientists that unlocks the sacred essence of the Glagolitic alphabet. These historic discoveries are the basic aim of the artist’s scientific knowledge and artistic expression. Many of his pictures are considered as artistic alphabet of the rediscovered truths. Obviously Hristo Tanev’s work has a hard mission – to lead us through his paintings to the ancient roots of the Bulgarian origins so we can find out who we are and why we are eternal.
