Konstantin Dimopoulos
Encyclopedia
Konstantin Dimopoulos (born Constantin Dimopoulos 20 December 1954) is a sculptor, installation and performance artist.
, Egypt
Dimopoulos spent the first eight years of his life living in Ismailia
before moving with his family to Wellington
, New Zealand
.
Although born in Egypt, Dimopoulos was raised in a Greek home. “My parents were both tailors and each spoke four languages fluently – Greek, Arabic, French and Italian. It was only on moving to New Zealand that they learned English.” This move by the family across the world to a different country, culture and language has influenced his artwork, in particular his public art installations.
He completed a Bachelor of Arts in sociology at Victoria University, Wellington and later studied part-time at the Chelsea School of Art in London.
In 2003 he moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia where he now lives.
On returning to Wellington Dimopoulos created works for his 1989 exhibition Mind At The End Of Its Tether, a series of dark, figurative oil paintings about the men working in the printing room of Wellington's daily newspaper. "The artist created large canvases that were brutal but beautiful statements of man's survival in sterile and hostile places. Superimposed on a pastiche of crumble-textured surfaces, with the materialising bodies all but lost in the polluted white-on-colour of industrial eternity."
In 2004 Dimopoulos was invited to create a sculpture, Kete for Connells Bay Centre for Sculpture on Waiheke Island
, New Zealand. This was followed in 2005 by Red Ridge, a monumental sculpture for a private golf course in Arrowtown
, New Zealand. Red Ridge caused controversy when the property owner had the work installed without first obtaining local government consent.
In 2006 Dimopoulos created Red Centre for Federation Square in downtown Melbourne, Australia.
Since 2001 Dimopoulos has created sculptures for public and private collections in Australia, New Zealand, UAE and USA. His sculpture, The Red Forest in Denver, USA was voted Westword's Best New Public Art 2011.
Early in his carrier Dimopoulos was influenced by the work of German artist Joseph Beuys
whose social artworks have helped develop his own vision.
"I am striving to give voice to issues that are important to me that provide a platform to effect change. I want to evoke in people the idea that as individuals we can contribute to change. We all have the ability to impact on our environment and on social issues."
Early life
Born in Port SaidPort Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
Dimopoulos spent the first eight years of his life living in Ismailia
Ismaïlia
-Notable natives:*Osman Ahmed Osman, a famous and influential Egyptian engineer, contractor, entrepreneur, and politician, was born in this town on 6 April 1917....
before moving with his family to Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Although born in Egypt, Dimopoulos was raised in a Greek home. “My parents were both tailors and each spoke four languages fluently – Greek, Arabic, French and Italian. It was only on moving to New Zealand that they learned English.” This move by the family across the world to a different country, culture and language has influenced his artwork, in particular his public art installations.
He completed a Bachelor of Arts in sociology at Victoria University, Wellington and later studied part-time at the Chelsea School of Art in London.
In 2003 he moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia where he now lives.
Career
Dimopoulos’s first exhibition was in 1981, The Passioned, a series of "large, lively and bold linear oil paintings". The exhibition was followed by a second solo show before he travelled to London and Europe.On returning to Wellington Dimopoulos created works for his 1989 exhibition Mind At The End Of Its Tether, a series of dark, figurative oil paintings about the men working in the printing room of Wellington's daily newspaper. "The artist created large canvases that were brutal but beautiful statements of man's survival in sterile and hostile places. Superimposed on a pastiche of crumble-textured surfaces, with the materialising bodies all but lost in the polluted white-on-colour of industrial eternity."
Sculpture
In the 1990s Dimopoulos began to explore the dynamics of form through the medium of sculpture. In 2001 he was commissioned by the Wellington Sculpture Trust to create Pacific Grass the first in the Meridian Energy Wind Sculpture Walk series. "Pacific Grass transforms a traffic island into a beacon of vertical bands of colour that undulate and pulsate with each gust of wind. Its resin rods harness and respond to the extremes of this site, making Pacific Grass memorable as it ushers the traffic around the circumference of the roundabout."In 2004 Dimopoulos was invited to create a sculpture, Kete for Connells Bay Centre for Sculpture on Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, located about from Auckland.The island is the second-largest in the Hauraki Gulf after Great Barrier Island. It is the most populated, with nearly 8,000 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes...
, New Zealand. This was followed in 2005 by Red Ridge, a monumental sculpture for a private golf course in Arrowtown
Arrowtown
Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 5 km from State Highway 6...
, New Zealand. Red Ridge caused controversy when the property owner had the work installed without first obtaining local government consent.
In 2006 Dimopoulos created Red Centre for Federation Square in downtown Melbourne, Australia.
Since 2001 Dimopoulos has created sculptures for public and private collections in Australia, New Zealand, UAE and USA. His sculpture, The Red Forest in Denver, USA was voted Westword's Best New Public Art 2011.
The Blue Trees
Konstantin Dimopoulos created The Blue Trees, as an ephemeral performance art installation using transformation provoke discussion about the issue of global deforestation. The Blue Trees was first created in Melbourne, Australia in 2005 and was a feature installation in the 2010/2011 Vancouver Biennale, Canada. Using a natural water-based pigment, Dimopoulos colours blue the trunks and branches of trees thereby transforming them from background species to living artworks.Installation art
Dimopoulos's installation art uses gallery and outdoor public spaces for site-specific works. These artworks reflect social themes and issues, such as Black Parthenon, an installation about cultural appropriation created in 2009 for the Melbourne Festival of Light. Other works include Virus, ‘Level 4’ and Savage Garden – works about environmental ecocide; and Paradise Lost about domestic violence.Early in his carrier Dimopoulos was influenced by the work of German artist Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
whose social artworks have helped develop his own vision.
"I am striving to give voice to issues that are important to me that provide a platform to effect change. I want to evoke in people the idea that as individuals we can contribute to change. We all have the ability to impact on our environment and on social issues."