Okova

Okova starts earlier than most artists do. Before any paint goes down he builds the canvas or the panel himself, which gives him full control over the size, the depth and the texture of the surface he is about to work on. It is an unusual way to begin, and it shapes everything that follows.

His work sits between abstraction and Pop Art, borrowing from both without settling into either. Vivid colour, dynamic forms and graphic pattern give the paintings their charge, and the subject underneath is almost always human: emotions and shared experiences, made tangible. He tends to start from an image or a feeling he wants to get out, then finds the materials that will carry it, which is why his output ranges from dense abstract pieces to work that borrows openly from popular culture.

Born in 1992, he has shown across several European countries and was selected for Foundations, the online fair for emerging art curated by Artsy.