Emanuela Toneva
Emanuela Toneva is a professional artist based in Bulgaria whose work reflects a deep engagement with color, texture, and form. Born in Bulgaria, she has also lived in the United States, an experience that has broadened her artistic vision and continues to shape her creative sensibility. Her practice bridges the worlds of fine art and design, blending painterly intuition with a refined sense of structure and composition.
Emanuela received her foundational training at the Specialized Secondary School of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, and continued her education at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, where she developed a strong grounding in traditional painting and art theory. She later expanded her studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where exposure to new cultural contexts and contemporary visual languages enriched her approach to art-making.
Drawing from her dual background as a painter and graphic designer, Emanuela’s work reflects both emotional depth and aesthetic clarity. She approaches each piece with a commitment to excellence and originality, continually exploring the dialogue between material, movement, and meaning. Her art embodies a balance between intuition and design — a synthesis of tradition and modernity that defines her unique creative voice.
Library, 19.7 W x 24.5 H x 5.1 inches.
In this three-dimensional painting, the library serves as a metaphor for perfection and knowledge — a sacred space where order and enlightenment converge. The luminous golden yellow suggests a pathway toward spirituality, guiding the viewer toward transcendence. At the same time, the tranquil blue and turquoise tones evoke harmony with nature, a serene equilibrium between the human spirit and the natural world.
In this three-dimensional painting, the library serves as a metaphor for perfection and knowledge — a sacred space where order and enlightenment converge. The luminous golden yellow suggests a pathway toward spirituality, guiding the viewer toward transcendence. At the same time, the tranquil blue and turquoise tones evoke harmony with nature, a serene equilibrium between the human spirit and the natural world.
Triumph of Spring, 22.4 W x 16.9 H x 1.57 D inches.
The three-dimensional painting rises upward in a radiant, pyramidal shape—a sculptural celebration of renewal, vitality, and the unstoppable force of life. Its folded structure plays with rhythm and light, mirroring the upward surge of nature awakening after winter’s stillness. Shades of green, gold, and soft pink bloom across the surface like the first buds of a new season. This work embodies both movement and serenity, evoking the feeling of standing before a hillside in full bloom — vibrant, alive, and forever reaching toward the light.
The three-dimensional painting rises upward in a radiant, pyramidal shape—a sculptural celebration of renewal, vitality, and the unstoppable force of life. Its folded structure plays with rhythm and light, mirroring the upward surge of nature awakening after winter’s stillness. Shades of green, gold, and soft pink bloom across the surface like the first buds of a new season. This work embodies both movement and serenity, evoking the feeling of standing before a hillside in full bloom — vibrant, alive, and forever reaching toward the light.
Resonant Waves, 6.7 W x 11.8 H x 15.6 D inches.
The three-dimensional painting transforms cardboard into a vibrant landscape of movement and rhythm. The artist manipulates the corrugated surface into undulating folds, creating a series of waves that suggest patterns of energy and motion. The paint’s application emphasizes both texture and depth, blurring the line between painting and sculpture. Waves evoke a sense of flow and transformation, inviting viewers to explore the tension between structure and fluidity, as well as fragility and resilience.
The three-dimensional painting transforms cardboard into a vibrant landscape of movement and rhythm. The artist manipulates the corrugated surface into undulating folds, creating a series of waves that suggest patterns of energy and motion. The paint’s application emphasizes both texture and depth, blurring the line between painting and sculpture. Waves evoke a sense of flow and transformation, inviting viewers to explore the tension between structure and fluidity, as well as fragility and resilience.
Summer’s Hive, 26 W x 15 H x 9 D inches.
The three-dimensional hums with the quiet rhythm — a harmony built from light, heat, and motion. The artwork’s folded surface recalls the rippling of water and the intricate geometry of a hive, where repetition gives rise to unity. Each ridge catches the light like sunlight on waves, a shifting pattern that changes as the viewer moves. Embedded fragments of barcodes and portrait silhouettes introduce traces of identity and commerce into the organic field. The barcodes suggest the coded language of modern life — systems of consumption and order — while the silhouettes recall fleeting human presence.
The three-dimensional hums with the quiet rhythm — a harmony built from light, heat, and motion. The artwork’s folded surface recalls the rippling of water and the intricate geometry of a hive, where repetition gives rise to unity. Each ridge catches the light like sunlight on waves, a shifting pattern that changes as the viewer moves. Embedded fragments of barcodes and portrait silhouettes introduce traces of identity and commerce into the organic field. The barcodes suggest the coded language of modern life — systems of consumption and order — while the silhouettes recall fleeting human presence.
Urban Rhythms, 18.7 W x 29.3 H inches.
“Urban Rhythms” is an intense, textured mixed-media relief that draws its energy from the layers of the city. The artwork is constructed from corrugated cardboard heavily layered with paint, giving it a raw, industrial foundation. The dense, repetitive horizontal lines create a visual rhythm, mirroring the endless, layered, and sometimes overwhelming sensory beat of city life: train tracks, power lines, and dense architecture passing by at speed. The work is a powerful study in contrast, exploring how brief moments of color and human energy persist against a vast, consuming urban backdrop.
“Urban Rhythms” is an intense, textured mixed-media relief that draws its energy from the layers of the city. The artwork is constructed from corrugated cardboard heavily layered with paint, giving it a raw, industrial foundation. The dense, repetitive horizontal lines create a visual rhythm, mirroring the endless, layered, and sometimes overwhelming sensory beat of city life: train tracks, power lines, and dense architecture passing by at speed. The work is a powerful study in contrast, exploring how brief moments of color and human energy persist against a vast, consuming urban backdrop.
The Heat of Summer, 22.6 W x 14.4 H x 2 D inches.
“The Heat of Summer” radiates with the pulse of sun-drenched days. Built from corrugated layers of painted cardboard, the work’s three-dimensional surface seems to shimmer and shift, echoing the way heat distorts the air. Bands of yellow, orange, red, and blue create a rhythmic pattern that both vibrates and breathes, capturing a landscape under intense sunlight. The ridged texture amplifies the sensation of movement and density, like waves of warmth rising from a sunbaked beach, where the air trembles above sand and sea.
“The Heat of Summer” radiates with the pulse of sun-drenched days. Built from corrugated layers of painted cardboard, the work’s three-dimensional surface seems to shimmer and shift, echoing the way heat distorts the air. Bands of yellow, orange, red, and blue create a rhythmic pattern that both vibrates and breathes, capturing a landscape under intense sunlight. The ridged texture amplifies the sensation of movement and density, like waves of warmth rising from a sunbaked beach, where the air trembles above sand and sea.
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Thank you!