The life and work of the painter Ventseslav Terziyski during the period of state socialism are an expression of resistance and standing-up for one's own positions.

The paintings of Ventseslav Terziyski are not realistic; they do not create a narrative. His paintings are usually untitled. A lack of figural composition and a storyline is characteristic to his work. Terziyski does not follow established norms, nor does he observe the rules of the perspective. He therefore did not receive recognition during the era of socialism; he was not accepted into the Union of Bulgarian Artists. Terziyski refused to compromise and to take jobs offered to him. He did not participate at exhibitions. He refused to accept any government assignments. He drew on cardboard boxes or any paper he found in the streets and survived only on his paintings, which he sold at low prices to acquaintances. "With his paintings the homes of people from all over the city [Blagoevgrad] are strewn," says Dr. Nurie Muratova from the Balkan Society for Autobiography and Social Communication.

The paintings of this original artist became included in an avant-garde exhibition only at the end of the communist regime, in the 11.11.88 exhibition in Blagoevgrad. In the following year, shown the day after the political change on 10 November 1989, a following exhibition was organized by the Union of Bulgarian Artists in Blagoevgrad in which Ventseslav Terziyski participated. The exhibition gained great interest and became a sign of the transition. In 2014, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the political transition, a national exhibition of contemporary art was organized in Blagoevgrad, using the symbolic title 11-11. More than 30 artists from Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Ruse, Plovdiv, Botevgrad and elsewhere participated. Ventseslav Terziyski presented new works; his paintings were included also in other exhibitions, and he has since been making annual solo exhibitions at the American University in Blagoevgrad. Today, Ventseslav Terziyski is among the most established and famous artists not only in Blagoevgrad but also in wider national context.