Trajectory is the title chosen for the solo exhibition of Yorgos Stamkopoulos (1983, Katerini, Greece), a site-specific installation, unique and unrepeatable, designed and created exclusively for Galleria Mario Iannelli in Rome. It is a total work, in which the viewer is initially welcomed by the pleasantness of calm tones, then engulfed and prompted to choose from one of the infinite trajectories that open up before them, always new with every step.At the entrance threshold, it is possible to establish a path to follow, but once inside, one becomes part of the work, and it is difficult to maintain balance without falling into the hypnotic vortex of the wall painting. The painting, embedded in the walls, opens the exhibition space to another dimension, made of lines, traces, and marks—a contortion of entrails that, almost like an anatomy lesson, reveal the true constitutive element of things. In reality, these lines represent the alchemical transformation of metallic marks into color, a stratification of layers that add up and complete each other, becoming pure gestures that let thought flow. The same gestures are extracted from the painting and reproduced in three dimensions by the bent steel bars, which, like thin inhabitants of the space, guide the viewer’s perspective, drawing infinite trajectories. These are not independent sculptures but rather bent marks of light from which one can start to take a direction.
Installation view: “Yorgos Stamkopoulos: Trajectory”. Courtesy Galleria Mario Iannelli, Rome
Thus, the trajectories also serve as keys to interpretation that we can choose to follow, focusing only on the chromatic effect, the contemplation of the gesture, or rather the deep exploration of an abstract technique, executed on five layers of acrylic paint, applied directly onto the walls and then removed. The artistic process operates at two different speeds: first, the application of color guided by the subconscious; then, the thoughtful and precise removal of the paint layers. In this way, the artist aims to stimulate the cognitive process of those witnessing the evolution of the dualities: Sign/Action and Temporal/Spatial Stratification, which chase each other in a fast-paced dance. However, his true exploration is the temporal dimension of the work, with a narrative intent. The challenge presented to us is to understand the temporality of the action. Stamkopoulos wants the question we ask ourselves to be about the temporal aspect of the painting process, conceived as a subject of investigation and not mere decoration.
Installation view: “Yorgos Stamkopoulos: Trajectory”. Courtesy Galleria Mario Iannelli, Rome
The process of subtraction, which leads to the dismemberment of matter, finds its deepest roots in the décollages of Mimmo Rotella and, by the artist’s own admission, in the works of Jacques Villeglé and Raymond Hains. However, the abstraction, the chosen artistic expression of Yorgos, should not mislead the reading of this total work, which has been meticulously prepared in every detail. Indeed, the creative act, which seems like the direct translation of a gestural outburst, is actually the result of a thorough study of the characteristics of the exhibition space for a precise outcome. The artist ensures that every element is in its place, in perfect harmony with the environment. He draws from the surrounding urban landscape and reworks it inside the gallery, choosing a monochromatic range of tones that dialogue seamlessly with the outside world and blend with the architectural elements beyond the windows. The resulting effect is a breakthrough into the fourth dimension, which can be even more precisely placed in the city of Rome, almost directly referencing the endless excavations —and discoveries — of the Eternal City.
Info:
Yorgos Stamkopoulos: Trajectory
Galleria Mario Iannelli, Rome
25/01/2017 – 31/03/2017
marioiannelli.it
Giulia Russo is an author and digital editorial assistant for Juliet, with whom she has collaborated since 2017. More recently she has been a contributing editor on cultural themes for various magazines, with critical insights, dedicated to emerging artists and the new frontiers of contemporaneity. Graduated in Art History at La Sapienza University of Rome, she specialized in Visual Cultures and curatorial practices at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Based in Milan, with some fleeting forays into Tiber, she loves listening to stories that she occasionally rewrites
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