Andrew Arnaoutopoulos: Still Life

FireWorks Gallery in Bowen Hills is exhibiting Greek-born, Brisbane-based artist Andrew Arnaoutpoulous: Still Life, from Wednesday March 18 to Friday April 24. Inspired by Andrew’s time working in a packing factory, the exhibition presents nine still-life paintings alongside an installation of debris and detritus from his studio. The works place a strong focus on industrial textures and materials, bringing rust, brick, signage and graffiti to life within the gallery space.

Over the past 40 years, Andrew has developed a contemporary practice that reflects the legacy of modernism through pattern and abstract investigation. Curator Nicholas Tsoutas notes that the work blurs “the distinctions between what constitutes a painting as a finished work of art and the by-product and detritus produced through the painting process.”

As part of the Still Life exhibition, the installation ranges from foregrounded paint tins and lifeless mannequins to a series of obscure objects, culminating in the Samos series. This body of work references an abandoned leprosy hospital on the island of Samos, Andrew’s birthplace.

Photo credit: Mick Richards