Mimi Staneva holds a degree from the National Academy of Art in Sofia, and has lived and worked in Vienna for many years. While her early works mainly focused on watercolours and etchings, a collaboration with the artist DE ES Schwertberger saw her begin to make oil paintings that stand out for their astonishing detail and incredibly delicate finish. Staneva’s work is always figurative; she links references to classical themes with autobiographical elements and fantastical figures in a very personal narrative style. Her most recent oil paintings integrated self-portraits in an extremely lifelike style.