Preslav Kostov (b. 1998) is a London-based painter and draughtsman who graduated from an MA at the Royal College of Art in 2023.
His 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. His imposing compositions engage in a 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 deliberately eschewing any specific temporal affiliation. Presenting anonymous ghost-like figures unconnected to any singular narrative or experience, his subjects inhabit a realm untethered from worldly possessions or cultural signifiers.
Kostov completed a BA at Leeds Arts University in 2020 after studying at the Royal Drawing School until 2017. He was the recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Award in 2021 and 2023, and is an elected member of The Contemporary British Portrait Painters Society. Recent group exhibitions include 'Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me' at Berntson Bhattacharjee in London (2023); 'From The Cloud' at Baert Gallery in Los Angeles (2023); 'Skin Deep' at Studio West Gallery in London (2023); 'A consciousness harnessed to flesh' at D Contemporary in London (2023); 'Now introducing 2022' at Studio West Gallery in London (2022); 'Proserpina' at Apiary Studios in London (2022).