NEW ARTWORKS: Kriton Papadopoulos

I remember Kriton Papadopoulos through his series “Cities”, we belong to the same generation and started our careers together, they were impressive works, full of power, dream… they were futuristic. So futuristic that you had the feeling that you were already in the future… We were lost for a while, , he moved to London, and I through travels, pauses and routes found elsewhere… We met again in September 2019, in the exhibition “[un] known destinations chapter III”, curated by Costas Prapoglou. His exhibited artwork was very different from the “Cities”, as well as the watercolors he recently showed me, which helped me to realize that his body work, regardless of the expressive medium, is: deep, strong, penetrating. “The brush stroke is the result of rhythmic movements that represent emotional turmoil”, Kriton emphasizes in the interview that follows. His watercolors pervade me deeply, structurally, in the difficult times we are going through. They allowed me to penetrate deeply into the painting space, to take deep breaths and thus, as an upper point, to dream again a world: clean, transparent and purified.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Kriton Papadopoulos

These watercolors, which we have chosen to present, are included in the recent section of the works you are working on. When did they start and with what cause?

My recent work, that I started in early March, is a combination between the automatic writing technique and the observation of images from the Internet. The latest events on the planet, especially the COVID-19 crisis, played an important role in the creation of these images. In a way it is the reaction of my body, through the act of painting, to the new unprecedented traumatic experience we are living in. This work relates to the main body of my practice in recent years based on the relationship between visual art and collective traumatic experience.

Mr Papadopoulos I know your work and have been watching it for many years, but I notice that this last section, while outside has nothing in common with the previous ones, at the same time has, do you want to point us out?

This work relates to the main body of my practice in recent years based on the relationship between visual art and collective traumatic experience. Generally, in my work the fragment and the small element play an important role. From the cities, (installations, 1995-2002) to the present I use a similar tactic. I build something bigger consisting of separate small pieces. That’s what I would always say existed within me, It is the way I perceive the world. When I was a child I used to play with small toys.

Did you mention the points of contact, but the points of divergence? How does this work differ from the previous ones?

In the development of my last works, mark making, the way the brush touches the paper plays a significant role. The brush stroke is the result of rhythmic movements that represent emotional turmoil. Slow pace alternates with sudden movements that leave their traces on paper through the brush. Between slow and fast, there are moments of silence where I must decide what ultimately remains empty, that is, the white paper. Rhythm is element of my previous works, when I used to create in three dimensions and the light, I was using, was electric whether we’re talking about a screen or fluorescent lamps. The viewer, in the older works, had to see the installations from different points of view. Now, in these watercolors, he must travel through the pictorial space.

Although I do not particularly like yellow, in combination with gray, it is the two main colors that govern your projects. But the way they are used, is full of intensity, power and optimism, is that your purpose? They look like a piece of music and have a rhythm that resembles an opera.

I remember in 1996, on a beautiful summer evening in Greek island Hydra, Jannis Kounellis told us that yellow was the color of death. I totally agree with that. Yes, you are right, these watercolors are really like an opera. Let us not forget that operas are almost always a combination of life, love and death. The work, after all, is done at a time when fear is terrible, but for a few minutes this terror becomes creation. These few minutes, in my opinion, create the visual image.

The reason why this section is deeply touched on me is not only because I love the design and the watercolor, but mainly because of the way the elements of abstraction are involved with the geometric shapes.

The elements of the image, the lines, the colors and the shapes refer to the architectural rhythms of the city, but also to images of nature where trees play a dominant role. My aim is to demonstrate the tendency of people from the past was and (still) is to tame, take advantage of and ultimately dominate the natural world. Abstraction for me is associated with chaos and expression of emotion, geometry is the logic, the way to tame, to measure the Earth.

” My latest work is part of a project I started with artist Harriet Hedden under the title ” Climate of Crisis ”. From your predicates: ‘Crisis Climate’ is the new dystopia, which looks like the new reality?

For many years we have been talking about hyperrealities, what is real and what is fake. In recent events we see something different. Something, we do not know if it is manufactured or if it happens because of our lifestyle, suddenly threatens us and becomes our daily reality. The situation we are experiencing today reminds me of the passage from the Utopian cities of Futurists to the metaphysical cities of Giorgio de Chirico with its empty squares and streets a century ago. Yes, this is our new dystopia, our new reality. Unfortunately, it is no longer a science fiction scenario but the beginning of a real climate of crisis.

In closing we would like you to tell us why, while you have used other practices in the past, do you come back like many modern artists in drawing and painting? Is it the result of the Global Economic Crisis or a personal need?

I never stopped painting and drawing. Just for many years I created community projects or installations. The drawing, two-dimensional painting is something immediate, expressive. It is happening here and now, using whatever materials are available. It does not require a lot of space and you are absolutely in touch with your emotions. It is incredible what you can do with few brushes and watercolors. This is what we need today. To be flexible and be in touch with our inner self.

Download Greek Version of Interview here.

First Publication: www.dreamideamachine.com
© Interview-Efi Michalarou