Filip Lav

Filip Lav’s paintings juxtapose the symbolic legacy of romanticism with the cubist language of minimal abstraction. The foregrounds are often painted in a floating symbolic dreamworld that weaves across multiple
canvases. These inner landscapes cast various mythological characters, from vampires to spirits and angels. They can be seen as the visual inheritance of 19th century dark romanticism and stand in contrast to the fragmented modernist structures of the paintings’ outlines. Each comprises multiple combined rectangular
canvases that often evoke a cascading crucifix form. The parts are initially sourced from different works or painted apart from one another to meet in unexpected combinations, where fragments of diverse identities rub together, creating a charged quality. These painterly grounds are the seedbeds that spark the formation of
vines, flowers, and geometric patterns layered on top.
Filip Lav lives and works in London. In 2012, he received his BFA from The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, UK; in 2016, he was awarded an MFA in painting from Columbia School of Art, New York, USA. In 2024, he completed the Turps Studio Program in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Minus Offspace, Vienna.