Flit & drag is a series of recent paintings that investigates the experience of perceptual refocussing between virtual and natural spaces. Petrakis’ polychromatic surfaces contain chaotic and ambiguous compositions that operate through sensations of colour, gesture and shifting depth of field. The paintings engage Neo-Baroque tendencies through ornamental painted forms, visceral pictorial spaces and visual complications that require extended viewing time. Through varied gestural passages and layered processes, the paintings bridge unfixed pictorial fields within sprawling compositions.
The project is a continuation of Petrakis’ research into the relationship between abstract painting and contemporary culture. She draws from concepts of the Neo-Baroque and Gilles Deleuze’s ‘Fold’ as a productive framework for navigating through the ambiguity and mass visual culture of contemporary times.
Panayiota Peta Petrakis is a Melbourne-based painter, and completed her Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) at RMIT in 2017.
Exhibition Details:
Opening Friday, September 21st, 6-9pm
Exhibition runs September 19th – October 6th
Arcade Project Space
suite 2, level 1 / 119 Hopkins St, Footscray
open wed-sat 12-5pm