George Ianaki (Georgi) studied painting and drawing at the Kazanlack School of Arts and Design and holds a M.A. Degree in traditional classical paining from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, European Union. Being taught in academic figure and portrait painting, Georgi shifted to abstract art after graduation. After years of modern abstract paintings, he returned to realism and figurative scenes inspired by Neo-classicism, mythology, and historical events. Realism has been misunderstood through most of the twentieth century as an art of imitation. In truth, when practiced by a painter like Georgi, realist painting is a powerful creative force. Being a good realist painter doesn’t only mean to reflect reality in the most realistically accurate manner. There is something bigger behind the paintings demonstrating the bare reality. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a need for such a prolific art movement as Realism. What, though, captivates people’s minds when they see realistic paintings is the idea of the painter’s authenticity and originality, which almost always goes hand in hand with concrete reality. Georgi's paintings combine the bestial and the divine, transporting one’s subconscious into reality. They imply situations, events, or relationships that are suggestive and not directly expressed. This imbues them with an engaging sense of mystery. The history teaches us some invaluable lessons about life, about art. For Georgi, Italian Renaissance and Dutch Golden Age are the periods some of his favorite artworks were done. Starting with the 1400s, and going forward to the work of Caravaggio, Titian, and Rembrandt. When talking about the depth and sincerity, both Baroque and Renaissance painting have become a standard for the artist. The idea of working with no limit on the labor required to finish the piece is appealing to him. While oil painting media and technique is traditional, Georgi seeks to capture the sensibility of our time, and how the objects and people look today.

Georgi has exhibited in U.S., Europe, Mexico, and Japan. He lives and works in Bethesda, MD.

Exhibitions: 2022 MFA Curve Gallery, Annapolis, MD (finalist, group show) 2021 ARC (Art Renewal Center), Port Reading, NJ (finalist, group show) 2018 One Art Space, New York, NY (group show) 2017 Team Gallery, Venice, CA (group show) 1997 Manayunk Art Festival, Philadelphia, PA (group show) 1995 Agora Gallery, New York, NY (group show) 1995 Manayunk Art Festival, Philadelphia, PA (group show) 1994 Agora Gallery, New York, NY (solo show) 1993 The Ralls Collection, Washington, DC (group show) 1992 Oskar Gallery, Washington, DC (group show) 1992 The Ralls Collection, Washington, DC (solo) 1992 Michael Stone Collection, Washington, DC (solo) 1992 Guadalajara Art Expo, Guadalajara, Mexico (solo) 1991 Frankfurt Art Fair (represented by Galerie Matuschek) Frankfurt, Germany (group show) 1991 ABC Modern Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria (group show) 1991 Arosita Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria (group show) 1991 Plovdiv Art Expo, Plovdiv, Bulgaria (group show) 1991 Sophy Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (group show) 1991 Rakovsky 136 Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria (solo) 1990 UniCat Winter exhibition, Sicily, Italy (group show) 1990 Autumn Saloon of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria (group show) 1990 UniCat Summer exhibition, Paris, France (group show) 1990 Emona Gallery, Nessebar, Bulgaria (solo) 1989 Varna International Print Biennial, Varna, Bulgaria (group show) 1989 ONYX Galerie, Nantes, France (solo) 1989 8th Youth Art Exhibition, Sofia, Bulgaria (solo) 1987 Kazanlack College of Art, Kazanlack, Bulgaria (solo) 1987 Central City Gallery, Bourgas, Bulgaria (group show)