George Raftopoulos, ROTUNΔΑ, 2017, mixed media on archival board, 30 x 42cm

OPENING: June 9. 6pm

deKonstruKt sees George Raftopoulos embrace rawness and immediacy as he strips back his painterly and sculptural compositions to illuminate the exploration of the self within the contemporary era.

Through his gestural approach to oil painting and sensitivity toward the raw material of the canvas, Raftopoulos is engaged in an act of ‘dekonstruktion’, which is at once embodied and conceptual. In his hands, paint becomes electric, and clay evokes the flesh of the body, with materiality and the surface figuring at the centre of his exploratory practice.

Known for his fierce explorations of universal themes across history and memory, Raftopoulos states that he is attempting 'to preserve the electrifying jolt of a single moment-in amber; to catapult a timeless past into the visceral presence so that it can be felt by another human being.’

Raftopoulos has held numerous exhibitions including, The TRANSPORTED, Nishi Gallery, Canberra, 2016; MYTHIC Nation, Artereal Gallery Sydney, 2015; Retrospecta, Greek Embassy, Canberra, 2015; I Could’ve been a Jockey, Bega Regional Gallery, Bega, 2014.

Many significant collections hold works by Raftopoulos, including the Bega Valley Regional Gallery, Bega, Hellenic Museum, Melbourne, Gold Coast City Art Gallery/Museum, Gold Coast, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia, and the Molongolo Group, Canberra.