Maria Nalbantova (b.1990, Sofia, Bulgaria) earned her MFA in Illustration from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2015, following a BFA in Book and Printed Graphics from the same institution in 2013. She is an artist working across various media, including objects, DIY materials, video, and images. Her mixed-media installations, often site-specific, explore the complex entanglements between human society and the environment. She aims to construct speculative realities where real stories, facts, and interdisciplinary research are intertwined with fiction and contemporary eco-mythologies, centered around notions of care, trust, and responsibility.

Her solo exhibitions include: “Paradise Marsh” (2023), National Gallery, Kvadrat 500, Sofia; “Foxtail” (2023), KO-OP, Sofia; “Landscapes per Meter” (2023), Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia; “Bookmarks (Sofia)” (2022), Capital Library and Center for Contemporary Arts “Toplocentrala”, Sofia; “Tracing the Hidden Memories – Bookmarks (New York)” (2022), Residency Unlimited, New York; “Post-tools” (2021), foryouandyourcustomers, Sofia; “A Good Deal” (2021), UniCredit Studio, Sofia; “Drought” (2021), Intro Gallery, Sofia; “hybrid-pure” (2020), Sariev Gallery, Plovdiv.

Nalbantova's work has been shown in: Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia; Sofia City Art Gallery; Vaska Emanuilova Gallery, Sofia; Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art; Charta Gallery, Sofia; Swimming Pool, Sofia; Art Encounters Biennial, Timisoara, Romania; AVU Gallery, Prague; Sarieva, Plovdiv; Kapana Gallery, Plovdiv; Varna City Art Gallery; ReBonkers, Varna; Structura Gallery, Sofia; Goethe-Institut Bulgaria; 59 Rivoli, Paris; Credo Bonum Gallery, Sofia.

In 2023, Maria Nalbantova was selected for the WaterLANDS Artistic Engagement Residency, a four-year EU Horizon-funded project at Dragoman Marsh, Bulgaria. She also participated in the "Silk Road Artists’ Rendezvous" cultural exchange in Hangzhou, China. In 2022, she was involved in two exhibition projects at Manifesta 14 in Prishtina, Kosovo, and participated in a residency at Residency Unlimited in New York as the winner of the 2020 BAZA Award for Contemporary Art, Bulgaria. She also attended the International Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria, in 2021.

Her works are part of the collections of the Sofia City Art Gallery, the China International Culture Association, the European Parliament's Contemporary Art Collection, and various private collections.