In 1941, during the Second World War, Sokolov was seriously wounded in battle. Later he worked as an artist at the Odesa Automobile Assembly Plant, became a member of the Odesa Artists’ Society and held positions at the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, first as a research associate and later as head of exhibitions. After the war, his life was marked by hardship and a constant struggle for the right to create.
During his lifetime, Oleh Sokolov became a legendary figure in Odesa. Despite his age, he was always witty, inventive and empathetic. Changes in style, trends or fashion never affected the interest to his personality and work. He possessed a keen sense for cultural shifts and often anticipated them. His innovation was innate. He was in constant search of new forms, believing that stagnation meant the death of creativity, and that being an artist was a way of life.
Sokolov loved to experiment. He created numerous works in graphic art and fresco, often expressing his disdain for the cult of personality and attempting to eroticize what he called “asexual art”. He always sought a synthesis of the arts, working through graphics, painting, poetry and music. Many of his poems are dedicated to visual art.
The works of Oleh Sokolov are held in numerous private collections in Ukraine and abroad (USA, Japan, Israel, among others). On September 2, 2019, to mark the 225th anniversary of Odesa, a new star on the Odesa Alley of Stars was unveiled in his honor.