The Space Between Matter and Light: Achilleas Papakostas’ “Ideal Condition”

A new solo exhibition by Achilleas Papakostas exploring the delicate balance between form and abstraction, matter and light – a poetic reflection on the human presence within space and nature

Zoumboulakis Gallery presents the new solo exhibition by Achilleas Papakostas, titled “Ideal Condition”.
Papakostas showcases works representative of the past five years – oils on linen, wood, or paper.

At the heart of the exhibition lies the ongoing struggle between subject and medium. Dreamlike, enigmatic images radically shift the subject, while commenting on the relationship between human and nature, artificial space and natural landscape, and the ceaseless wandering of the solitary human being through an unfamiliar place. In the works presented, the subject ceases to exist as protagonist; it becomes instead the mechanism that organizes the pictorial means. Papakostas does not paint the subject – he uses the subject in order to paint.

The paintings reveal a distinctive personal style where tonal harmonies, strict boundaries, clear juxtapositions, compositional balances, rhythms, and counterpoints act soothingly. The reading of the works is free from sharp tonal contrasts or any sense of noise or fragmentation, preserving instead a healing image.

“In all of Papakostas’ works, abstraction is indeed marginal, but never absolute; it imperceptibly stops at a critical point. One step further, and you reach the complete evaporation of the subject; one step back, and you have the burden of unnecessary representational information. Such balance between representation and abstraction constitutes a non plus ultra–a final frontier where the imprint of materiality is preserved, yet without the weight of matter.
The artist’s wager seems to be this: can one reach the zenith of light without completely annihilating materiality? I don’t know whether art has a ‘duty’ to perform in this world; nevertheless, such works recall an origin forgotten along the way – a world we suspect truly exists, and one that cannot possibly be invented by artificial means.”
– Nikitas Siniossoglou, writer, PhD in Philosophy, University of Cambridge

“Here, don’t expect to find dimly lit backgrounds like our childhood memories, because here the ego is absent. The lines don’t converge into depth; they seem to open up toward the viewer. Two straight lines must intersect somewhere to define a plane. In Papakostas’ work, the plane is the very thing being sought – and it appears only through the demolition of form, that is, of perspective.
Hopefully he’s right, because two dimensions have greater access to openness – and thus, to the Other. Then forms cease to have volume, and light no longer produces shadows, for light has no matter, and it is through materiality that we meet. Papakostas knows this; that’s why he insists on painting in a relatively dim studio, often surprising even himself when he sees his works in natural light.” – Dimitris Alibertis, writer

Short Biography

Achilleas Papakostas (b. 1970, Athens) graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Thessaloniki and the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), where he studied under P. Tetsis and R. Papaspirou. He continued his studies with a scholarship from the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, under Professor M.V. Velickovic.

His works have been exhibited in numerous museum group shows and international art fairs, including the Benaki Museum, the Onassis Foundation, the Foundation of the Hellenic World, Art Paris, and Art Athina.

In Greece, he has received the 1st Prize of the Yiannis and Zoe Spyropoulos Foundation (1995), the “Melina Mercouri” Award from the Ministry of Culture (1998), and the Academy of Athens Award for a young painter under 40 (2004). In France, he was awarded the Grand Prix Paul Louis Weiller of the Institut de France (1997).

He has been collaborating with Zoumboulakis Gallery since 1996 and currently lives and works in Athens.