Overview
"My paintings emerge from a cumulative process of self-questioning around observed memories, engaging with the intricacies of the human experience." - Preslav Kostov
Employing the technique of automatism, Preslav's paintings emerge from a cumulative process of self-questioning.
 
His imposing compositions dialog with the form and palette of the old master painters, presenting imagined scenes of personal struggle situated within a liminal realm. His works speak to the enduring reality of human experience while rejecting association with any particular moment in time.
 
Presenting anonymous ghost-like figures unconnected to any singular narrative or experience, his subjects inhabit a realm untethered from worldly possessions or cultural signifiers. The tangled forms, with their alluring asymmetry, evoke a melancholic isolation inviting the viewer to contemplate the complexities of the human condition.
Biography

Preslav Kostov (b.1998) is a London based painter who graduated from an MA at the Royal College of Art in 2023. He completed a BA at Leeds Arts University in 2020 after studying at the Royal Drawing School till 2017.

 

He was the recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Award in 2021 and 2023, was selected as a runner up in the STUDIO WEST ‘NOW Introducing’ Open Call 2022 and is an elected member of The Contemporary British Portrait Painters Society.

 

His work has been included in group exhibitions at galleries including: Baert Gallery, Los Angeles (2023); STUDIO WEST, London (2023 and 2022); D Contemporary, London (2023), Mall Galleries, London (2022), Apiary Studios, London (2022) and Soho Revue, London (2022). His work has been featured in Booooooom Magazine and Artit Magazine, and is held in private collections across Asia, Europe and the USA.

 

Exhibitions
Works