ART NEEDS TWO: ONE TO MAKE IT 

AND ONE TO NEED IT. 

Ernst Barlach, September 1917

The artist and graphic designer Nikolay Tonkoff, born in 1969, studied graphic design after completing his training as a visual artist in Sofia (Bulgaria) at the renowned art academy in Weißensee, Berlin. As a young designer, he founded the media and design Studio Formschlag in 1997, which he still heads as creative director. In addition to his award-winning works for Formschlag, he remained true to his free artistic work.

In doing so, he developed his own distinctive style, which draws on his strong computer-based work as a designer and yet also has roots in the art history of his Bulgarian homeland. In his case, these are very direct and personal, since Tonkoff comes from the family of the eminent cartoonist Alexander Dobrinov.

In his work created with the iPad, Tonkoff classically redefines digital art. Furthermore, the dividing line between digital and classical art is removed in terms of form and content.

His current works show different human conditions, which are captured by his imagination and can be rediscovered in specific situations. They are contemporary in the best sense and offer access for everyone.

The works also reflect the lively exchange between East and West through his two places of residence and work in Berlin and Sofia. Tonkoff‘s works are more than a small discovery in the current cultural scene.

EXHIBITIONS

MOOD FROM BERLIN AND VIENNA