Igor Ost (b. 1983, Saint Petersburg) is an artist whose practice brings together drawing, printmaking and a deeply personal exploration of mythology, memory and the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world. Trained at the Graphic Department of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, Ost has developed a distinctive visual language in which archetypal forms, botanical imagery and references to cultural history are transformed into enigmatic contemporary narratives.
His work often operates between the familiar and the uncanny, revisiting inherited symbols and collective memories through meticulously constructed images. Nature, in Ost’s practice, is rarely presented as a purely idyllic realm; rather, it becomes a space of transformation, survival and psychological projection. His recurring engagement with themes of mythology, safety, territory and the traces of the past gives his work a particular tension between poetic contemplation and historical consciousness.
Ost’s work has been exhibited internationally in museums, foundations and contemporary art institutions, including the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Erarta Museum, and WenBo Art Museum in Dalian. His recent projects include Herbarium at Erarta Museum (2020), Archeology of Safety at Sevcabel Port (2021), Changes Illusion at WenBo Art Museum (2024), and
solo exhibition “Nowhere” at Localie Hub, Amsterdam (2026).
His work has also been presented in significant international group exhibitions, including the International Print Triennial at Musée Raymond Lafage in France (2026), the 1st International Biennial of Printmaking in Fresnes-sur-Escaut (2025), and exhibitions at De Balie in Amsterdam and Gallery Iceberg/MiCT in Berlin. In 2016, Ost participated in 36 Strategies, One Book Exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum. His international exhibition history extends across Europe and Asia, with presentations in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Finland, China, South Korea and Russia.
Since 2024, Ost has been based in Lille, where his practice continues to evolve at the intersection of classical graphic traditions and contemporary visual culture.
His works are held in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum, WenBo Art Museum, the National Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Karelia, the National Library of Russia, Salmela Art Center and the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, among others. In 2026, he was awarded the Grand Prix in Drawing by the Taylor Foundation in Paris.