Stelios Karamanolis (1977, Athens) works are to be understood beyond the ontological senses, covered in symbols and anthropological references. In an ether of strange figures to which we are not fully attuned, Karamanolis is concerned with the ambivalent; the other things, human and non-human.
The pictographic signals from his raw canvases unfold the world different than the reality we seem to belong to. His creatures seem to carry history with them, engaged as they are with the ancient circular elements and geometric shapes, the Eastern Mediterranean vocabulary of mythological motifs and modern contemporary life. With bright crispy yellows that assist the few Attic-style black lines, this legacy is connected with ideas that demand to exist; beyond normal control. Amalgamated into the surreal these are the subterranean entities that exist in the psyche of us all, just beneath the surface of the waking day. Karamanolis carefully choses the fragments of past and future tenses. The rules of engagement are thus: aesthetic and technical approach are not related, philosophical thoughts become the articulations of process and time, inspiring thoughts on our personal (un)-identifiable cultural roots.
Stelios Karamanolis is a graduate of the Athens School of Fine Art and the Hildesheim University in Germany. Recent shows include; Parallel Second, The Breeder Playroom; Self-Hypnosis, with Panos Papadopoulos, Kunstbüro, Vienna; An artist without a concept is like a traveler without a road map, Kunstraum am Schauplatz, Vienna; Instructions for Happiness, curated by Severin Dünser, Olympia Tzortzi, Athens; »Idiopolis« Dialectics between subject and society / Edition 2, curated by Stephan Klee, State of Concept, Athens; CHEZ EUX: Unseen Collections, CirCuits & Currents, Projectspace of the Athens School of Fine Arts, curated by Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos, Athens; The same sky, Lepsien Art Foundation, Dusseldorf; Painting Today, Vogiatzoglou Collection, Athens; In The Studio, Kunsthalle Athena, curated by Daily Lazy Projects, Remap4, Athens; Lustlands Vol.II on The Great Eastern (after Andreas Embiricos), curated by Nadja Argyropoulou and Lakis & Aris Ionas – The Callas, Thermisia Argolidas Peloponnese; Hope – Kibu, Nerima art museum, Tokyo, Japan.
Karamanolis lives and works in Berlin and Athens.