Artereal Gallery - .Art Gallery Sydney Australia

Yioryios Papayioryiou

Catalysing Colour

31 March - 14 April 2021

This April, Artereal Gallery is excited to present Catalysing Colour, an online solo exhibition of new sculptures by Yioryios Papayioryiou. Having shown his work since he graduated from Australian National University’s School of Art in 2014, this will be Yioryios fifth solo exhibition at Artereal Gallery, illustrating the upward trajectory of a fast-emerging artist who is increasingly being recognised for his ever-evolving free-form helixes and spirals which draw on the shapes and silhouettes of architecture.

Having relocated to Athens in 2019, Yioryios latest body of works references the ancient Greek architectural monuments of his new home, drawing upon the graceful fluted lines of Ionic pillars and the use of contrasting colours to create abstract representations of urban landscapes both new and old.

(To view and purchase artworks from this series, including pricing details, scroll to the end of this online exhibition page).

Catalysing Colour 4 Dioxazine Purple x Cobalt Blue_55 x 50 x 46 cm_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

“In creating my latest series of sculptures Catalysing Colour, my focus was on materialising works which would highlight the ability for colour to be the catalyst. Without it, the sculpture’s inherent sense of movement cannot be recognised and represented. In using colour as a catalyst, I seek to find the strengths embedded in each work, the graceful lines and fluid forms, and allow these to be glorified.

For my latest online exhibition at Artereal Gallery, I am presenting a series of six sculptures which feature a colour palette based on a combination of Dioxazine Purple highlighted by Cobalt Blue, and Hooker’s Green highlighted by a Cadmium Yellow or a Magenta. As a result of these contrasting colours, our eyes linger and follow the sculpture’s innate patterns, abstracting its inherent architectural representation.

Shown alongside these major new works, Yioryios has also chosen to release a series of smaller maquettes – sculptural studies which he hopes to one day realise on a large scale in a public art context.

This exhibition was created in my studio in Athens, Greece. A city defined by an urban landscape where the future and history are intertwined. I now look forward to these artworks taking a breath in a landscape that can only be experienced in Australia.”

Yioryios Papayioryiou
Artist Statement, 2021

Catalysing Colour 6 Dioxazine Purple x Cobalt Blue_94 x 32 x 46 cm _2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

Catalysing Colour (M)(5) Prussian Blue_22 x 37 x 21_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

Catalysing Colour (M)(2) Cadmium Red with a mixed Orange_22 x 46 x 37_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

Catalysing Colour 10 Hooker's Green x Magenta_45 x 46 x 43cm_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (1)

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Catalysing Colour 8 Hooker's Green x Cadmium Yellow_89 x 62 x 31 cm _2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

Catalysing Colour 7 Hooker's Green x Cadmium Yellow_47 x 38 x 66 cm_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (1)

Catalysing Colour 5 Dioxazine Purple x Cobalt Blue_49 x 40 x 52 cm _2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (1)

Catalysing Colour (M)(5) Prussian Blue_22 x 37 x 21_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

Catalysing Colour 4 Dioxazine Purple x Cobalt Blue_55 x 50 x 46 cm_2020_Yioryios Papayioryiou (2)

Born in New Zealand, now based between Sydney, Australia and Athens, Greece. Yioryios Papayioryiou is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the boundaries between painting, sculpture and architecture. Graduating from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours in 2014, Yioryios has since held numerous solo exhibitions and been invited to participate in numerous group exhibitions at spaces such as Artereal Gallery, Sydney Contemporary Art Fair and Art Athena, as well as collaborations with Melbourne Art Fair.

Yioryios was recently commissioned to create a major public artwork as part of WestConnex Canal to Creek M5 Public Art Program. Launching in 2021, Canal to Creek is a diverse program of eighteen commissioned artworks that will help activate new and existing parklands between St Peters and Beverly Hills. Yioryios’ steel sculpture will be 3 metres high, 6 metres wide, and will be located in a permanent contemporary sculpture park in St Peters.

In 2015 and 2016 Yioryios was a finalist in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize and his work was featured in Artist Profile magazine and Habitus Living. In 2016, Yioryios was commissioned to create a large scale, site-specific sculpture for ANZ headquarters in Melbourne.

In 2017 he was commissioned to create a site specific sculpture for the Crown Casino on the Gold Coast. In 2018 Yioryios was invited to participate in Monochrome: Empty and Full at Margaret Lawrence Gallery at the University of Melbourne. In May 2018 Yioryios completed his first international residency in association with the Athens School of Art in Athens, Greece.

Since 2019 Yioryios has worked on numerous major public art projects including a large scale sculpture which can now be seen at PS4 in Parramatta.

Yioryios’ work is held in significant collections such as the Justin House Art Museum collection, the ANZ collection, the Pricewaterhouse Cooper collection, the Crown Casino collection, the ELLIOT EYES COLLECTION and the Australian Embassy in Paris collection.

2020. Aluminium, Automotive Paint & Synthetic Polymer. 29 x 39 x 15cm

$1,150 AUD / €750

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