Leonid Sokov was born in Tver in 1941. In 1956–1961 he attended the Moscow Secondary Art School and in 1969 graduated from the Institute of Industrial Art.
His close collaboration with Prigov, Orlov, Shelkovsky, Kosolapov, and Lebedev led to the formation of a group with its own artistic vision close to that of Pop Art. Sokov’s work exposes the absurdity of the modern object world and explores its capacity for perpetual transformation. Sokov attempts to dematerialize the object by reifying its numerous links to society. In his paintings, the objects are inseparable from their inner history, from the meaning they have acquired in their life prior to encountering the artist who has changed their function. Since the early 1970s Sokov has actively participated in the nonofficial art community of Moscow. He showed his works in the apartment exhibitions and often hosted such private shows in his own studio.
In 1980 Sokov emigrated to the United States and enthusiastically joined the Sots Art movement in New York. He participates in various international art projects and has exhibited his work throughout Europe and the United States. His works are part of the permanent collections of numerous museums such as the Metropolitan and Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and several Russian museums. Sokov lives and works in New York City.
