Demetrios Papakostas

Biography

Demetrios Papakostas was born in Montreal in 1960. Demetrios Papakostas’ work is characterized by his bold technical investigation, colour spatial and perception. He works primarily in oil and watercolour and is interested in work that highlights his passion for geometric abstraction and colour field paintings. He was first struck by the tranquil and vast colour field works of Mark Rothko and his perception that art was intended to be a spiritual experience. Demetrios’ thoughtful inquiries into the subtleties of the relationship between abstract thinking and the human condition is his need to communicate our journey through life and the issues we face as we make that voyage. 

“I have a deeply held conviction that art must speak from, and to, heart, mind and soul.”

 Artist Statement

Color as place – a shimmering place where our minds move between the personal and the universal. A space where the inward search and the interpersonal hum and dance, moving us ever forward as seekers alone and together.

On the surface. Color. Form. Lines. Fine lines and choices. And feeling my way forward. As artist. As human. Each line creating direction. Each color vibrating with profound depth or uplifting force.

Then meeting. Two different colors touching. Sometimes drawing us down into the painting, below the surface, and into ourselves; other times the colors holding each other in place, reverberating with a vital tension; or subtly enhancing each other, moving outward and beyond the surface. Into the unknown.

My artistic choices are primarily focused on possibilities for using form, surface, and space, to initiate conversations around the color experience and perception of color-spatial. Using primarily geometric forms, this expression then becomes a gateway to new exploration conveying movement and the discovery of the unexpected.

Though each piece has a definite beginning, the work rarely allows me to know what direction it will take or when it will be complete. Primarily working in oil, I start by building layers of forms and color and proceed intuitively, continuously changing, covering up, even discarding certain elements as I proceed.

Constantly rethinking and reworking the surface fascinates me and working the surface in this way is an important step, as it is my internal search for the necessary and intangible connection with the work.

My work is my response, my need to communicate insights into our journey through life and the issues we face as we make that voyage. There are questions of religion, spirituality, purpose and the ultimate mystery of the afterlife and how it manifests in our daily lives.