Ana Kostova By Kaufmann, Lucia

Her love: playing with colour and form. Her approach: large-format image grounds cut with a milling machine that Ana Kostova (b. 1995) sands and paints by hand. Unique in technique, unique in effect – precise, brightly coloured, richly varied. At times more of a painting, at other times a sculpture, or even a kind of screen standing in the room. These impressive “cutouts” are not easily forgotten. Her extraordinary use of colour merges with the open structure of the works: Kostova creates harmonious overall compositions, interweaves different planes, and allows her pieces to merge with the surrounding architecture. Her spatially expansive objects are inspired by Roman floor mosaics in her native Bulgaria as well as by architectural details or natural elements. The creative process, ranging from digital sketches to painting by hand, is central to her work. This volume comprises the artist’s most important pieces from recent years – a dialogue between form, history and time.