In his new exhibition deKonstruKt, Raftopoulos’s desire is to “debase this belief system” that surrounds us – our historical and contemporary narratives. Although not necessarily visible from his aesthetic, Raftopoulos in fact engages with the masters, Titian, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, as the first part of this process.
From here he visually rejects these icons, consciously dealing with his raw canvas and bare materials with the aim to excavate and rebuild. Yet his approach is not simply iconoclastic and a return to basics, but rather a challenge to what we know.
The rawness of his aesthetic functions as a form of confrontation in which historical myths are challenged by the recognisable yet intangible, which combine in his works.
Raftopoulos’s oeuvre also includes sculptures, which further embody his pursuit for truth in our contemporary world. Just as he does with paint, he seeks to use materials in their raw form in order to attack the subjective beliefs that constitute our moment in time.
He uses discarded objects collected from op shops or the side of the street, breaking them down and reshaping them. The result is obscure figures, both uncanny and nostalgic, reminding the viewer that what they see all around them is in fact what humans have created, and therefore can recreate. Raftopoulos’ “insatiable appetite to exhaust and exude truth from both materials and subject matter” is ubiquitously expressed in the gestural physicality and challenging rawness of both his paintings and sculptures throughout this latest exhibition.
George Raftopoulos
deKonstruKt
Anna Pappas Gallery
9 June – 8 July
65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art is an extraordinary account of the unique art of this continent, published alongside a landmark exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art. Necessary and urgent, it tells the story of Indigenous Australian art; a new art history unlike anything we’ve seen. For Jane O’Sullivan, it’s a remarkable and must-read book.
In a new series of illustrated postcards available as a free gift with purchase only at the Art Guide Bookstore, Oslo Davis takes on classic and contemporary art terms and genres and reimagines what they could be referring to.
With so much to choose from, we’ve rounded up the major summer exhibitions in each capital city, open all summer long. Spanning Yayoi Kusama, Magritte, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, and many more.
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Bringing together 70 artists from 30 countries, the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art fosters connections across cultures and borders, and translates cultural knowledge for the present day.
