Michalis Karaiskos

Lives and works in Athens, Greece

Artist statement

My current practice aims to explore the relation of color to perception and its effect on the viewer; it is implemented through chromatic systems developed using mathematical concepts and materialized by evolutions of system-based games. I am interested in the phenomenological experience of color, dealing with how color operates on its own terms and within the context of other colors. My practice seeks to get into the subject matter of color and understand it through experience. The gradual 'fading' of saturated color into a transcendental light, the osmosis between complementary colors, and the uncanny atmospheres generated by specific color palettes were some of the key ideas I worked on. Some of my works may give the impression of being digital, but my painting approach is completely physical. Translations between the theoretical and the tangible, virtual and the physical, are central to my work. I follow a systemic approach to color. The works I produce are essentially platforms of 'chromatic events' that demonstrate the subtle qualitative transitions and differentiation that occur in colors in the context of their correlations. Through my paintings, I expose how color visualizes mathematical change and the uncanny atmospheres generated through specific color palettes. I engineer pigment and geometry into illusory experiences that provide clues about their material origins. The chromatic structures are organized and escalated so as to leave viewers often with a feeling...

Artwork