02/12/2026
Kostas Papakostas is a Greek multidisciplinary artist based in London, predominantly working with painting and video.
We love his swishy paintings and after reading his artist statement and learning that his work is about being present, we like it even more!
Artist Statement:
"Iโm drawn to movement, flow, impermanence. I find meaning in things that never settle, in that constant state of flux.
I donโt plan. I walk into the studio and let my awareness and emotions surface. Then I get to work. I place the canvas on the floor and move around it circling, leaning, stepping back, bending low.
Thatโs how I get close physically, emotionally, fully.
I paint one brushstroke at a time. One gesture, start to finish. No corrections. No layering. If it fails, I wipe it away and start again. I wait for the moment when breath, timing and intention line up. Then I move. One stroke. Thatโs the painting.
Iโm not trying to make a statement or tell a story. Iโm trying to be present. To let the painting break free from my control and find its own destiny. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesnโt. But when it does, something real slips through.
Each brushstroke is a trace of an intuitive choreography, a record of a moment in time. They breathe, flow, stir.
My work comes from a desire to strip everything down and make space for something direct and honest."
