He was born on July 1st, 1954 in Sofia. Graduated from The National Art Academy, Sofia in 1979, subject ‘Sculpture’ in the class of Professor Velichko Minekov. The main material of his works is stone, sometimes in combination with sand, earth and other materials. Also he has art realizations in metal.
Major creative participations, exhibitions and realizations in Bulgaria and abroad:
1981 Sculpture composition «Gryphons»,Theatre Square of Shumen, Bulgaria, bronze
1983 Collection «Peter Ludwig» Ааhen, Germany, stone sculptures
1985 Two stone composition, Zarautz, Spain
1988 Two stone composition, Olympic Park of Seoul, South Korea
1988 Constantly open-air sculpture exhibition in the Southern Park of Sofia
1989 Sculpture composition «Crossroad», Sculpture Park Lindabrunn, Аustria with a collective
1992 A three-stone composition, St.Johann in Tirol, Austria
1993 Joint exhibition with Gabriele Berger in the Foreign Art Gallery, Sofia
1999 Solo exhibition “The Reconstruction”, Gallery «Rayko Alexiev», Sofia
2000 Sculptures «Iwace Rock Museum», Iwace, Japan
2001 «16 Columns» Park «Оborishte», Sofia
2003 Solo exhibition, the National Museum of Bulgarian Arts
2003 «Hugo Voeten Аrt Center» Geel, Belgum, stone sculpture compositions
2003 Compositions «Stone walls», Markovo (Plovdiv Region), Bulgaria
2004 Solo exhibition «50 Columns», Gallery «Circle +», Sofia
2005 Stone sculpture compositions «Five Stone Columns» in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Sofia
2000, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Stone compositions from the cycle «Temples», India
2009 «The Cross», locality Rupite (district Petrich)
2011 XVIth International Exhibition “Sculpture and Object», Slovakia: sculpture composition «Four Stone Columns», Resort Park of Piestany
2014 «Stone Portals», the park area of the Hotel «Hissar», Hissar, Bulgaria.
2018 Sculpture stone-bronze composition «Mahatma Gandhi with a goat», Sofia South Park
2019-2021 Sculpture exhibition in the atrium of the National Gallery «Kvadrat 500» «At 65 million years – the stone».
From 2005 till now realization of the large-scale author’s sculpture project «The Marble Town of Arts» in the Ilindentci Sculpture Park, village of Ilindentci (Blagoevgrad Region), Bulgaria.
From 1998 is the initiator together with Atr center Ilindentci Foundation and main engine in the creation and development of Ilindentci Sculpture Park, also many art events and culture projects in Art center Ilindenci, Sofia, etc.
Ivan Rusev participates also in more than 40 exhibitions in Bulgaria and more than 20 exhibitions abroad organized by curators, galleries and art collectors. His works are in the possession of the National Gallery „Kvadrat 500”, National Museum of Bulgarian Arts, Sofia, the Sofia City Art Gallery, the National Palace of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most of the public art galleries in the country, «Iwace Rock Museum», Iwace, Japan, etc.; private collections in Bulgaria: Sofia – «Studio-Collection Svetlin Rusev» and the Pleven Art Gallery «Collection-Donation Svetlin Rusev», as well as in: Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Mexico, India, South Korea, France, Germany – Collection «Peter Ludwig», Belgium – «Hugo Voeten Art Centre», etc.
He has won a lot of awards in the field of sculpture. The most important of them are:
1985 – «Arteri» Grand Prix for best achievement of the year in the plastic arts, San Sebastian, Spain;
1986 – First prize for the best outdoor sculptures – Varna;
2004 – The «Slavyana» Annual Award for achievements in the field of fine arts «The best sculpture Exhibition 2003» Sofia, Bulgaria.
2021 – National award in the field of sculpture in the name of academician « Ivan Lazarov» for 2021.