Preslav Kostov (b.1998,Bulgaria), is a London based painter and draughtsman whose work engages with the intricacies of identity and the immigrant experience. Employing the technique of automatism, Kostov’s paintings emerge from a cumulative process of self-questioning.
Kostov's imposing compositions dialog with the form and palette of the old master painters, presenting imagined scenes of discovered narratives 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.
He studied his MA in painting at the Royal College of Art, and is a recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Award (2021 & 2023).