Cypriot Artist Ioannis Aristotelous Presents New Works in Greece and Tokyo

Cypriot visual artist Ioannis Aristotelous has unveiled a new series of works through recent exhibitions in Santorini and Tokyo, continuing his exploration of light as a tangible material and investigating how viewers perceive space, form and scale.

The new works focus on the transformation of light, creating environments that evoke texture and materiality while challenging conventional ideas of proportion and physical presence.

Watercolours exhibited in Santorini

As part of a recent exhibition presented by the Athens-based CYPHER Gallery in collaboration with Hiraeth Santorini, Aristotelous introduced a new series of watercolours that invite viewers to closely engage with the work.

The relatively intimate scale of the pieces encourages a more personal viewing experience, revealing shifting interpretations of space and light through the texture of handmade paper.

The series examines what constitutes a body within a landscape. Through carefully structured forms, the works evoke both burial mounds and landscapes that appear to contain other landscapes within them, blurring distinctions between object, body and terrain.

 

 

New large-scale works in Tokyo

Only weeks after the Santorini exhibition, Aristotelous presented two larger-scale works in Tokyo, marking a further evolution in his treatment of scale and perception.

Displayed in deep red tones, the pieces draw viewers into a space where the physical and the metaphysical intersect, challenging assumptions about the dimensions and boundaries of the landscape.

The works are being exhibited at Goyo Gallery in collaboration with AWASE Gallery at the Terrada Art Complex, under the curatorial direction of Mizuki Endo.

Exploring the language of the earth

Central to the exhibition is Aristotelous' ongoing series, Standing Soil, which examines humanity's intimate connection with the earth.

The works feature forms and patterns that resemble archaeological relics unearthed from the ground or objects still concealed beneath it, highlighting the ancient and enduring nature of the landscape.

The imagery draws inspiration from processes such as gardening, soil cultivation and the way terrain responds to environmental conditions over time. Particular emphasis is placed on the traces left behind by objects, living organisms and human activity.

Light beneath the surface

Running throughout the series is the idea of light existing within the soil itself.

In Aristotelous' work, light functions as a revealing force, exposing bodies within space and bringing hidden structures to the surface. The artist explores the shapes and rhythms formed by the earth while also suggesting realities that extend beyond the visible landscape.

Inspired in part by a volcanic crater in Fukushima, the new works consider the subconscious response of the land, with light emerging from beneath the surface in cyclical patterns that evoke layers of buried pigments and geological formations.

The result is a body of work that approaches landscape almost as though it were viewed through an X-ray, revealing hidden layers beneath the surface. Subtle fields of colour emerge through shadow, recalling the warm hues often visible in illuminated medical imaging.

Through this process, Aristotelous presents light as something almost sacred, establishing an intimate relationship between the artwork and the viewer, and linking the viewer's presence to the presence of the work itself.