Preslav Kostov (1998, Bulgaria) is a London based painter whose work navigates the psychological and social dimensions of figuration through a process of layered distortion, fragmentation, and erasure. Working at the intersection of observation and abstraction, his images emerge through a suspended, almost archaeological process. Bodies surface partially, are overwritten, and reappear. Rather than illustrating clear narratives, Kostov’s works hold space for ambiguity, dissonance, and emotional residue. Drawing on traditions of genre painting and scenes of collective leisure - often beaches - he repositions these settings as sites of instability and quiet tension, where the familiar becomes estranged and intimacy is interrupted. Through this fractured visual logic, his paintings question what it means to see, to belong, and to remember.
He is a recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Award (2021 & 2023).
SOLO SHOWS
Between the five wells - Tara Downs Gallery, New York, USA (2024)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Esther Art Fair - Tara Downs, New York (2025)
Felix Art Fair - Tara Downs, Los Angeles (2025)
NADA Miami - Tara Downs, Miami (2024)
Notes toward a shell - Tara Downs Gallery, New York, USA (2024)
Softer, Softest - Guts Gallery, London, U.K. (2024)
Beauty in chaos - Hew Hood Gallery, London, U.K. (2024)
The Arcadian Dream - Spurs Gallery, Beijing, China (2024)
The sum of our parts - Swivel Gallery, New York, USA (2024)
ArtSG - Gallery Vacancy, Singapore (2024)
New Now - Guts Gallery, London, U.K. (2023)
Manifest - SixtySix London, London, U.K. (2023)
Touch-a-touch-a-touch-me - Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery, London, U.K. (2023)
From The Cloud - Baert Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2023)
Skin Deep - Studio West Gallery, London, U.K. (2023)
A consciousness harnessed to flesh - D contemporary, London, U.K. (2023)
Now introducing 2022 - Studio West Gallery, London, U.K. (2022)
”Proserpina” duo show with Henry Baker - Apiary Studios, London, U.K. (2022)
EDUCATION
Royal College of Art (2021 - 2023)
Leeds Arts University (2017 - 2020)
Royal Drawing School (2016 - 2017)