Artist Kostas Papakostas on the illusion of control and physicality in art

Tucked away behind Regent’s Canal - just beyond the eastern edge of the Colville Estate - sits the Hang-Up Gallery. 

This hidden haven of contemporary art counts among its featured artists Banksy, Tracy Emin, Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama.

Another is Kostas Papakostas. Born in Greece in 1976, Papakostas has called East London home for decades.

“You can’t tell by my accent, I sound like I just got off the boat”, he jokes to East End Review. “But I feel like a Londoner at heart. Hackney is my home”.

Papakostas’ route into art began with documentary filmmaking. It’s something he says informs his artistic practice, which explores nature, the human condition, and temporal themes.

He made art his full-time occupation in 2019. It was a moment when he wanted a more personal, expressive career path. 

As the pandemic began, Papakostas began to create more art, treating that time as a ‘period of reflection’ and productivity and giving him time to hone his craft.

Now, his work is multidisciplinary, bridging the gap between video and film. At the core of this work is his intuitive, deeply physical approach to the canvas, with broad brush strokes and an air of spontaneity.

Papakostas doesn’t plan his compositions in advance the way some artists might - instead, he lets each piece become a record of movement.

This he describes as a kind of ‘choreography’, and indeed, his deeply physical method comes through in the final product. 

His paintings feature subtle, restrained palettes and focus more on texture and rhythm than on form or colour.

Asked how he gets into the right headspace to create art, he says: “It’s about having total control, and at the same time, giving up control.

“Control is an illusion. Often, the things we think we can control, we cannot. In realising this, and relinquishing that control, we gain some of it back”.

Find out more about Kostas Papakostas.