PETER SPELIOPOULOS | ARCHAEOS

09.08.2019 - 11.05.2019

eliopoulos. Presented at Ateliers Courbet for the first time, Speliopoulos’ personal body of work results from the artist’s longstanding interest in and experimentations with the medium. While his passion for craftsmanship, organic textures and forms has informed his work throughout his creative career, Speliopoulos’ recent dedication to clay has unleashed a new form of expression distinguished by artistic maturity and multilayered cultural influences.

"...each piece tells a story of how external forces shape us, how we exude beauty in our individuality and imperfections. I strive to create tactile surfaces that beg to be touched, alongside a visual power that makes the work feel alive and provokes emotion.” – Peter Speliopoulos

As he investigates time-honoured techniques, Speliopoulos offers a contemporary interpretation of the traditional wheel-thrown forms of Antiquity ceramics with a personal twist and emphasized textures. The cracked and glazed surfaces of matte and luster layers result from the application of sodium silicate on each slipped cylinder, drying out the clay and provoking the outer surface to rupture. Glazes of different shades and opacities are layered in feathery, gestural sweeps, accentuating the mosaic patterned surfaces. The artist accentuates some of the skin’s corroded colorations and conveys a sense of erosion as if the resulting piece had been excavated from the land or the sea.