Giorgos Kontis

(Greek, b. 1981)

"I am fascinated by the relationship between different things, the dialogues that can exist and the potential creative disputes. Different elements, materials, processes and approaches to the working surface become layers in my works and hold an awkward, ambiguous stance between clashing or merging into an entity. My work becomes a contemplation on the act of painting itself, as the painted work is stripped away and the process of its creation takes centre stage. The process becomes the image; the image emerges as the result of the process. In this way painting appears as a multi-layered metamorphosis,, or ‘transition’, into a physical object

which functions in a similar way as poetic language. What meaning is there to be expressed may remain unsaid, and what matters most is the visual outcome of the process. I am interested in issues of authenticity and originality in the act of painting. I examine and experiment with the 'sacred' nature of the act of painting, the process of 'creation', and question this historical premise; its function of 'icon' and the making of art as a heroic act of original creation. These questionings and concerns take place both in the process of my painting,but also, in my use and display of the painted image itself."

- G. Kontis on his practice

Currently completing a PhD in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London, Giorgos holds a BA from the Athens School of Fine Arts (2009), and an MFA from AKV St. Joost, Breda, the Netherlands (2013).