Tables IV 1985

Editor: We’re looking at "Tables IV" from 1985 by Panayiotis Tetsis, done in acrylic paint. The composition is striking, a layering of figures and shapes in muted yellows and greys. It feels both abstract and representational. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: It’s fascinating how Tetsis uses acrylics to almost evoke fresco-like qualities, considering the broader context of acrylic paint production and consumption in the '80s. Acrylic’s accessibility democratized art making, challenging traditional hierarchies of "fine art" and its association with the slower drying, more expensive oils. Does the texture remind you of anything? Editor: You know, it does have a kind of matte, almost chalky surface, closer to fresco than the gloss I typically associate with acrylics. Is he subverting expectations around the medium itself? Curator: Precisely! By employing acrylic in this manner, Tetsis prompts us to reconsider the socio-economic implications of material choices. He’s highlighting labor; his own of course, but also alluding to the means and social relationships needed to supply the canvas and pigments. Think about how that interplay manifests here with this abstraction-figuration duality. Editor: I see what you mean! He’s using a modern, mass-produced material, but creating something that references a much older, more laborious art form, blurring those boundaries. Curator: And the shadow play can be seen as directly coming out of and dependent on the production and deployment of electric light as both medium and subject. Very material! Editor: It definitely gives me a new perspective, thinking about the work not just as a painting, but as a product of its time and the materials available. I never considered it in this way. Curator: Me neither, not until right now. That’s the wonderful thing about art, right? It constantly forces us to re-evaluate our assumptions, and this painting is the ideal reminder that we must always consider context!