George Raftopoulos

ABOUT THE ARTIST   |   VIEW SELECT AVAILABLE WORKS

Raftopoulos' canvases investigate memory and travel. Exotic Greek Island beaches, sweeping Australian bush vistas, frenetic New York streetscapes all appear through a visual language that relies heavily on a textured composition of colour, space and line. Raftopoulos' paintings have developed into sophisticated expressions that command your attention and draw you in for a closer inspection, repeatedly revealing something new with every fresh glance.

Paint is squeezed from tube to canvas, raw colour is scraped onto foundations of layered paint that has been permitted to dry momentarily. Increasingly with every layer a history of each painting is developed and is negated by frantic scraping as a reminder of times and memories gone by. On and off again the materials are worked onto the canvas. The vivid colours, encapsulate memory and experiences. Referenced by numbers and abstract letters they act as a map of personal history, a personal landscape….a moment in time that has been transformed into a language that has come to be a signature of Raftopoulos' work.

The paintings act as a map of memory. Random numbers signify a metaphysical, geographic reference. The numbers are points of longitude and latitude guiding us to the place from which the painting arose. “The numbers and Greek lettering are my stamp on the historical tableau. Greek mythology collides with my personal mythology” says Raftopoulos.

BIOGRAPHY
Born Sydney 1972
Lives and works in Sydney
   
1992-94 Bachelor of Arts, Visual Arts, University Western Sydney
1996 Postgraduate Diploma, Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney University
 
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008
 Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney
  Amanda Gillespie, New York
2007 Hill-Smith Gallery, Adelaide
2006
 The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong
  Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney
2005 Axia Modern Art, Melbourne
2004 Axia Modern Art, Melbourne
Axia Modern Art, Sydney
Gallery Phillip Neville, Darwin
2003 Bark Modern Art Gallery, Hong Kong
Axia Modern Art, Melbourne
Australian Art Resources, Melbourne
2001 Axia Modern Art, Melbourne
‘Liquid’, Michael Carr Art Dealer, Sydney
Paris Print Biennial, Australian High Commission, Paris, France
2000 ‘Bilbao’, Michael Carr Art Dealer, Sydney
1999 Volvo Gallery, Sydney
1998 Olsen Carr Art Dealers, Sydney
1997 Varga Gallery, Bourdeaux, France
1996 Olsen Carr Art Dealers, Sydney
   
Collections
Gold Coast Art Gallery, Queensland; University of Western Sydney, Sydney; The Art Trust, Sydney and Melbourne; ABN AMRO, Sydney; Impulse Airlines, Wagga Wagga; Multiplex and Walker Corporation, Wharf Nine, Sydney; Babcock and Browne, Sydney; Westpoint Corporation, Sydney; The Royal Flying Doctors Service; The Chocolate Factory, Sydney; Novell, Sydney; Westpac Property Fund, Sydney; Maddens Solicitors, Sydney; NDC Global, Sydney; Hugo’s Lounge, Sydney; Landmine Survivors Network, Washington DC, USA; Prebon Yemone Brokers, New York, USA; Pitcher Partners, Melbourne; Credit Suisse, Melbourne.

George Raftopoulos

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