Tolarno Galleries is pleased to present Empire + Union, four new works by Constanze Zikos.
Constanze Zikos leads abstraction in new directions, combining the timelessness of Classical Greek art with the disposable aesthetic of laminex. His work is stylish and subversive. Hard-edge geometric sculptures vie with ornamentation, Pop Art, fashion, décor and street-culture. His works fabulously mix the highbrow with the low. A ‘zipper’, for example, is the inspiration for a glittering abstract sculpture. Leaning against the wall, it’s equally a wonderful take on the latest designer mirror.
The Vertical Sovereign is like a giant fragment from a decorative architectural frieze. The much loved meander pattern from the old world is converted into a shiny new sculpture encased in black woodgrain on one side and red and blue mirror on the reverse. Empire + Union shows Zikos freely drawing on popular patterns and motifs that are considered ‘classical’ and mixing these with mirror tiles, brushed chrome, woodgrain veneer and adhesive contact.
As Judith Pascal says, ‘The present for Zikos can be construed as an epic sci-fi attack on the past and some things must mutate to live. In this, like a poet and seer, Zikos show-and-tells us not just what has happened but what will happen. 'Visionary? usually describes a completely different type of art but in this case it is the only word that will do’.
This is Constanze Zikos’ eighth exhibition at Tolarno Galleries. A major survey of his work was presented by Monash University Museum of Art in 2003. His work is represented in major collections in Australia, including Art Gallery of New South Wales, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, National Gallery of Victoria, Monash University Museum of Art and University of Melbourne Museum of Art.
Press release courtesy Tolarno Galleries.
104 Exhibition Street, Level 4
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Australia
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