My painting practice centres on conceptual figurative Painting in oil. it is rooted in giving tangible form to unseen concepts rather than depicting real life. I aim to explore the very essence of human nature, reaching beneath and beyond adopted paradigms to grasp an internal, multidimensional reality that ultimately manifests as the figure.
The creation is a dynamic, investigative process: the figure and the surrounding space remain in constant flux until a critical balance is achieved and the central concept is revealed.
This journey begins with graphic artwork, which represents the first visible trace of an idea. It is the stage where the unseen becomes tangible and where interpretation transforms through into figuration for the canvas. While this inquiry is primarily resolved through oil painting, my process is profoundly informed by my history in sculptural work, which instilled the principle of a continuous dialogue between shedding and receiving: the act of freeing the internal form.
Ultimately, i aim is to invite the viewer to tune in and become a witness, recognizing that the power of the observer, when in resonance with the work, is what validates and actively brings into life the truth held within the art.
Olga Tzikouli was born in 1973 in Kalamata, Greece. From 1992- 1996, she studied French literature in the Kapodistrian University of Athens and Dance in the National Dance School of Greece (ΚΣΟΤ). She continued her studies at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance(N.S.C.D) in Leeds, Uk, where from she obtained her BA Degree in Performing Arts in 1998, followed by a Post graduate development Award (BTEC) in extended contemporary, ballet techniques and in the field of Dance in education in 2000. She worked as a dancer in England, Portugal and Germany and later on, as well as a choreographer, choreographic assistant and a teacher.
In 2006, a pivotal event called her to step off stage and become an active observer. The stage became the self, and the movement shifted inwards to expand soon after into the tactile worlds of sculpture and figurative painting.
Olga Tzikouli lives and works in Berlin.
Exhibitions
2016 : Extant
Fata Morgana, Berlin
2013 : Three of a Kind
Project Space II II // I, Berlin
2012 : Our own little party
Haus am Lützow Platz, Berlin
2012: Null Intervals among 5x times Knot Theory Events.
Project Space II // I , Berlin
2010: μ = 137 Am2. μ agnetic moments.
Project Space II II // I, Berlin
2010: Tropical hours
Das Büro pop up gallery, Berlin
