EXPO CHICAGO, 2022 | Chris Akordalitis: Inside/ Outside

Painted in 2022, the presentation comprises a collection of scenes and figures that dwell on the mythology and the essential archetypes that bring one to thoughts of the Garden of Eden, as well as the subtle verge between godliness and humanity. Created at the artist’s remote studio in Paphos, Cyprus, where he lives and works in a traditional house with a whitewashed yard, these paintings employ the particular modality of vision born of such primal conditions as a basis for construction of environments where all features and colors and intensified, shapes become their own magnified hyperboles, and hues take on a sumptuous, gem-like character not found in real life.

Featuring nymphal and godlike figures captured in leisurely perambulations, Akordalitis’ compositions playfully engage art history’s classical idiom of nude bodies in verdant vegetation in a modern and energetic technique. In this particular collection of paintings, the plasticity of shape and the architectural depth of the works’ meticulously detailed environments showcase in an especially exemplary way a specific dexterity characteristic of Akordalitis’ proficiency in manipulation of traditional references.

The form of elastic, manipulatable human limbs as a compositional element has appeared in art for centuries, and can be found in a diverse range of practices from Botticelli, to Japanese Ukiyo-e, to Rubens, to, finally, the Greek terracotta pottery of Akordalitis’ direct artistic lineage and inspiration. In this line-up of works specifically, this ancestry and historical reference bleed into scenes that in places may inspire an observer to imagine an encounter between the lush flora and mysterious characters of Paul Gaugin with the crisp, distinctly contemporary execution of clean shapes and bold colors of Alex Katz. The result of such an imagined meeting, not explicitly intended by the artist, brings the paintings decisively into the twenty-first century in a style unmistakably unique to Akordalitis and his own history.

Among the works on view, The Girl with the Dragon Fruits and Swinging in the Rain showcase some of the more Edenic of the artist’s signature environments, whereas Chandelier and Sleepless Night place his subjects’ infinitely plastic physiques among the domestic trappings of daily life. The two approaches combine spectacularly in Diptych, which splits the action between an elegant interior and a tropical vista, with what some have read as a sly reference to Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam in its compositional structure.

Also presented, Charcoal Mask and Rosie show their respective subjects in intimate close-up cropping, placed inside bathroom interiors and painted in brilliant, mesmerizingly effulgent shades of oil paint on linen. The works further highlight Akordalitis’ skilled combining of flattened perspective with deft command of coloration in transformation of mundane observations of humanity into treasured fantastical scenes.

“Using images and random moments from the daily routine”, Akordalitis notes, “I try to create pictures that reflect the simple and "beautiful" life we are living. The warm feeling of a sunset, the playful light of a summer morning, the power of colors and human emotions are the main focus of my work. Paintings that are as effortless as our reality and as uncomplicated as life should be”