George Androutsos
Your educational background spans from physics to philosophy and aesthetics. How do these diverse fields inform your artistic practice, particularly in your approach to abstract portraiture?
I am of the opinion that different fields of knowledge have a beneficial effect on expanding people's cognitive horizons. This is the way to broaden our mind and to become more inventive and adaptable to new situations. The knowledge I have gained from these different fields of study defines my thinking and the specific conceptual structure that characterizes me. Something similar happens in my drawings. This means that my cognitive qualities and the way I see things influence my drawings as you see them. This does not mean, of course, that the way I think is the correct way or the only one. It is my own way of thinking and understanding of the world without seeking any exclusivity, originality or unique truth. I perceive the matter of any object as something transparent and constantly changing within a field of forces. Likewise I draw my heads as well, as a matter that is constantly transforming within this field of forces. Moreover, this violent transformation reveals the inner structure of my portraits, giving them interiority and a dynamic expressiveness. I want my portraits to reveal the inner landscape of people.
You have expressed that drawing is not just a technique but the foundation of art itself. Can you elaborate on how this belief influences the thematic and stylistic choices in your solo exhibitions?
Ιt is my firm belief that drawing to painting is what poetry means to literature. It is an elliptical form where every needless or unnecessary parameters are removed and remains only the structural essence of the designed object. It is an unfulfilled attempt to speak poetically, touching directly and respectfully for the essence of things. The more I process a drawing, the more I feel fascinated and perceive the limitless expressive and stylistic possibilities it has to offer. Each of my drawings evolves almost differently from the previous one and is independent of my initial formal and stylistic intentions. Each new drawing applies its own norms in creating the form, which derive from the initial stimulus, the evolution of the creative process, my mood, etc. Of course, my drawings as a whole have a stylistic similarity, but not in a repetitive manner. This similarity is due equally to gesture writing/painting and my way of perception. After all, drawing and painting is not a simple manual work, but mainly an intellectual one.
Your approach to abstract portraiture often involves using natural charcoal and an eraser to both add and subtract elements, creating a dynamic interplay of textures and forms. Can you discuss how this technique helps you capture the essence of the remarkable individuals you portray? Moreover, how has this method evolved over time in response to the different stories and characteristics of the subjects you choose to depict?
Indeed, I use charcoal and eraser on drawing paper for my drawings. These materials are familiar and make me feel comfortable. I like simplicity and conscious consumption of material goods. However, it's not just the materials that are required to create a project design. It is also the artist’s drawing skills gesture of the artist, meaning his technical excellence, his ingenuity, his intention, his ideological content and his perceptual abilities. All the above factors in different proportions, contribute to artistic creativity. These factors influence my artistic process, as I draw my faces/ portraits. As everyone who has different life experiences, personal history and thoughts, I have to modify the proportional mix of elements I use every time, in order to draw the faces/ portraits. This means that some drawings require longer and more intense gestural movements with harder or softer charcoal or even an eraser. On the contrary, other drawings require skillful fine handling with sharpened charcoal and thin slices of eraser. At other times, an inventive reassessment of drawing methods and materials is required. This results in a variety of expressive and stylistic ways of drawing and capturing the forms on paper. Each way of drawing adds to my experience and gives birth to new inspirations. I am not afraid to experiment in design nor am I afraid of making mistakes. I consider my mistake as an ally and constant companion in my artistic journey. This is an achievement that has been reached over time.
Given your exploration of various international artistic influences, from the avant-garde of Europe to the bold styles of Russia, how do you synthesize these diverse elements into your own unique style while ensuring each portrait remains a distinct reflection of the individual subject? Could you describe how a specific global influence has shaped a particular piece of your work?
I am aware that there is not only one artistic influence that has an impact on my work. On the contrary, there are elements in my artworks influenced by many other artists around the world with different drawing styles. However, the only cohesive element of my work is my love for black and white drawing and paper. Furthermore, there are biennial exhibitions showcasing exclusively drawings, while others exhibit watercolor, etc. Observing the works of great living artists, I mainly concern to see their writing, the way their work is structured, the forms and tones, the reaction of material on paper and many other elements of plasticity that reveal the design possibilities. The visual experience of these works creates the conscious need for experiment and reassessment of my own work and at the same time an unconscious renegotiation of my artistic knowledge. This observation process has a positive impact on my artistic practice although I have several years of experience. Through my own gaze, I can embody the drawings solutions proposed by different artists in my own personal creative practice, so that my designs do not develop linearly and unilaterally, but often reverse and redefine what I considered previously acquired. Sometimes I might have to take one step backward to take two steps forward. After all, drawing, like painting, is a constant search.
Having exhibited internationally, how have different cultural contexts (like those in Japan, Bosnia, and France) influenced your artistic expression and reception?
My participation in international exhibitions offers an opportunity to be seen my work directly by everyone in his country. In the same way, when I visit another country, I become the observer. I experience different cultures and ways of life, discover new things, fill with visual experiences and fresh insights. These experiences influence consciously or unconsciously my artistic practice, as it happens to everyone who is engaged with art. Each journey is a new window to the world that broadens my perspective and helps me to see things from a new angle. This interaction with different cultural contexts and environments sparks new ideas, stimulates the imagination and opens new horizons in thinking and artistic practice. Additionally, the Internet plays an outstanding role in connecting and creating interaction between artists, movements, people, cultures. It is my firm belief that all the above mentioned had a significant impact on my artistic progress and path.
With a PhD in Aesthetics, how do you integrate philosophical concepts into your artworks? Could you provide an example of how a philosophical idea directly inspired one of your pieces?
The truth is that I don’t have in mind any particular philosophical concept that consciously influenced my artwork. However, I believe that human’s cognitive background affects in various ways every aspect of life. In the same way, I carry inside me, as an integral part of my personality, my reading, my knowledge, my education and my culture which I assimilate into my artistic activity. This also applies to my doctorate, as the new knowledge and practical and intellectual activity opened my horizons and gave me new reflections, which in turn crystallized in my works, not in a strictly defined way, but with a transparent or sometimes hidden reference or indication. In my drawings, for example, there are elements of reflection on spatial status and space perception. Sometimes it is perceived as a personal boundary, sometimes as a continuous and uninterrupted existence, or even as an intertwined flow between vacuum and matter. At times it appears crushed and scattered, dense or thin or in one place after another compact and undivided. There are also elements of inner quest with social contributions, related to concepts such as distancing, isolation, communication, solidarity, etc. Of course, it is difficult to distinguish any of the above by simply looking at a drawing. It is usually necessary to look at the whole of the works in order to draw some conclusions about the concerns that arise, but even so, no conclusion is universally correct and absolute. Every viewer has the right to think what he wants depending on the environmental context in which he acts and thinks. The same is true for the artist, who may have all the intentions, limited by his culture and the society in which he lives, but finally his work will have the last word through its multiple interpretations.
How do you navigate maintaining a unique artistic identity while engaging with diverse artistic communities and styles? Are there challenges in keeping your work distinct and personal?
The fact that there is a clearly defined artistic identity that is perceived in the whole of my work is a pleasant and legitimate situation. A lot of factors influenced this process . The continuous and uninterrupted contact with various currents of contemporary painting and art styles provides me with the required intellectual and visual experience that eventually crystallizes and takes shape in my work. In addition, constant practice with drawing materials and gestural drawing, in combination with the intention and willingness to experiment and overcome fears and stereotypes, ultimately leads to the creation of a distinct artistic style. This style due to experimental mood but also the fight against fears and prejudices, constantly evolves, modified, transformed but at the same time sometimes recedes and repeats itself or remains static. This is not necessarily a challenge or an obstacle to my artistic maturity, but rather an indication of the extra effort I have to make or a sign of a temporary distancing. I would like to emphasize that in the above-mentioned attempt, I am very conscious of not making my artwork a fixed mannerism. However, I believe that the more I develop qualitatively as a human being, the less mannerism I will perform at any activity in my life .
Looking ahead, what new themes or techniques are you eager to explore in your upcoming works? Are there specific projects that mark a significant shift or evolution in your artistic journey?
The truth is that I cannot distinguish clearly some of my works that significantly influenced the development of my artistic path so far. In order to make this happen, I may have to distance myself from my works and look at them again from a different perspective. However, I can observe my older drawings and trace with my today’s experience what I could have done better. I always try to look at older drawings so that I can notice the differences in the writing, the tones, the materials, the style and the painting qualities. This comparison game allows me, after I identify my past fears and prejudices that have been reflected in my drawings, to perceive my drawing progress. As for the future, I am thinking of including digital media and modern technological tools in my drawings. Needless to say that I don't intend to stop creating drawings, as I am dedicated to my craft and I have the belief that it will last for a lifetime. However, the world is moving forward, technology has been developing at great speed and we must be able to participate in this strange pursuit of innovation.