“Even in the darkest hours, art is a light that gives a new look to things and has the power to change them”

Interview with Stefan (the) Stefanov, creator of the official vision for LUNAR 2025

Stefan (the) Stefanov is one of those artists whose works make you stop, examine every detail carefully, and try to understand the message that often waits for the curious eye to reveal itself. Like the old theater posters where everything “starts with a good idea,” Stefan has elevated a good idea and quality in visual art to a cult status.

Creator of posters for theater productions, films, albums and concerts of some of our favorite artists (Beloslava, Molec, etc.), covers of the cultural publication “Stalbata” and many others, his work can hardly be put into a frame. It is free and surprising like the rush of his imagination, which leads him to new ideas, interesting metaphors and aesthetically “touchy” visual messages.

Stefan is the creator of the official visуал for this year’s LUNAR edition and we meet with him to take a peek behind the works and learn a little more about him.

Tell us a little more about yourself. When and how did you start making art?

I was born in Sofia, at 11 o’clock.
I’ve been doing visual art ever since.
While my colleagues in the nursery were drawing a circle, I drew an icon with a felt-tip pen and fooled the kindergarten teachers.
A few years later, my mother secured the first home computer from a film production she was involved in. It had MS Paint 98 installed on it.
And here is a good moment to note that there were computers before, but not where I grew up, and drawing on a screen with a trackball mouse, especially when you’re 7, is a transcendent experience.
Only recently did I realize that this was the beginning of my career in design and digital art. Over the next 20+ years and in the different phases of my life, I’ve simply pursued the same urge, the same excitement.
I intend to continue, regardless of the circumstances, because that’s the only way I feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose.

What helped you build your style?

I’m never sure how to answer this question, because I believe the truth is very personal and probably varies from person to person.
I pursue things that I genuinely enjoy. My work is a collection of the work of artists who have inspired me. But then again, maybe the secret lies not in the process of finding, but in the reason for seeking.

Because style is not an external thing that I can look at and describe as an achievement or something I have built. Style is part of a person’s character, beliefs, behavior, interests, and values. The way they speak, the way they love, it exists. Taking credit for your style is like taking credit for being 2 meters tall because of your achievements. You either have it or you don’t.

What about LUNAR inspired you to agree to create the official vision for this year’s edition of the event?

Whether I would accept was never in doubt. This is one of the most large-scale and meaningful projects I have ever participated in and the honor of having my work represent it is incomparable. LUNAR is a celebration of visual art and a symbol of the artistic development and change I want to see. An event that encourages the next generation of Bulgarian artists to be themselves and prove that we are capable of a culture that can boldly stand shoulder to shoulder with other European and world festivals.

What is the message of your work? Tell us a little more about its concept.

I wanted to visualize a scale that would embody the ideology of the festival and its meaning.

In the act of lighting, besides the literal, I also put a metaphorical meaning (as always).
Because even in the darkest hours, art is a light that gives a new look to things and has the power to change them. LUNAR is the torch that raises this light above the silhouette of the capital, and the person who holds it – our primordial need to create it.

You are the creator of many and varied works – from posters for movies, theater productions and concerts, to magazine covers. Which ones have left the brightest mark on you?

I find it very beautiful that when you give 10 artists the same theme, in most cases you will get 10 different works. And even if they have taken inspiration from the same source, each one will carry the identity of the person behind it. The projects that I hope to be remembered for are precisely those that have sought and allowed my reading. Because the works that have left the brightest mark on me are those in which I had the freedom to be myself and which have left a mark on someone else.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve ever received as an artist?

“Forgive.”