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Gerrish Fine Art
ARITHMETICS: Selected work by Alexandros Tsolakis
ARITHMETICS: Selected work by Alexandros Tsolakis
Alexandros Tsolakis
Gerrish Fine Art is proud to present ARITHMETICS, an exhibition of unique works on paper and sculpture by London-based artist Alexandros Tsolakis. This display takes place at Willoughby Gerrish, 16 Savile Row, London, from 22-31 August.
“A point is that which has no part.” - Euclid, ‘Elements’, c. 300 BC
Euclid’s seminal treatise established an enduring paradigm for deductive reasoning and geometric instruction. Its lessons have remained valid for over two millennia, proving instrumental in many fields, from engineering, design, education, and astrophysics, to cartography and computer science. Moreover, Euclid’s foundational definitions - of the point, the line, and the plane - have shaped creative artistic practice from antiquity to the
present day, especially in the sphere of abstraction.
A point has no part, but also no size, no length or breath, nor dimension. It’s essentially a number, a location without any measurable qualities. Points are the basic building blocks, upon which all other geometric structures are built. This exhibition presents four series of ‘arithmetic’ monoprints, each exploring a specific concept via abstract forms that emerge by point arrangements. Built with code and ink, the intricate drawings feature millions of dots, aligned according to elaborate mathematical formulas, mixed with a dose of chaos. Their precision and complexity, transcends what is possible solely through the human hand, creating a visual counterpoint to the expansive ideas they address. The works evoke abstract landscapes, celestial masses or forces, even music. Points become particles, rays of light, radial waves intersecting each other, notes of an exploding symphony, or a myriad of stars tilting across our sky.
Image Credit:
Installation shot: Tsolakis, Alexandros, 'Symphony', series of 9 unique drawings in code, giclée print on paper, 2022/24
Euclid, ‘Elements’, c. 300 BC
Critical Mass 01
Alexandros Tsolakis
2021/24
102 x 102 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
An abundance of small dots swirl together, following orbits that create fluid formations. Points dissolve into mass, the artist manipulates the parameters of the code to affect a sense of circulation or flow. The end result appears natural, it suggests movement, a dance between two entities: light and dark, presence and absence. Yet its form emerges through artificial means, a pure act of formal experimentation, an interplay between density and layering.
£3000
Alexandros Tsolakis
Critical Mass 02
2021/24
102 x 102 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
An abundance of small dots swirl together, following orbits that create fluid formations. Points dissolve into mass, the artist manipulates the parameters of the code to affect a sense of circulation or flow. The end result appears natural, it suggests movement, a dance between two entities: light and dark, presence and absence. Yet its form emerges through artificial means, a pure act of formal experimentation, an interplay between density and layering.
£3000
Installation shot: Detail - Tsolakis, Alexandros, 'Tilt 0, unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper, 2021/24
Tilt 0
Alexandros Tsolakis
2021/24
100 x 100 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
This series of Op Art, abstract visualisations, addresses elements of time, motion, perception, optics and space. We never truly see the entire night sky, the endless stars, galaxies and nebulae that infinitely surround us, layers of them going deep, as far as the beginning of space and time. Our eyes are developed enough to allow for just a slice of the whole volume. The stars appear static, eternal, always there at the same, or at least a similar, position. But, they do move. While they take small steps on an arc in our perspective, they span monumental distances in real life at incredible speeds. Just like us here on Earth. Long exposure photography (star trails) and computational modelling reveal that movement in high-definition, making visible our imperceptible movement on earth’s axis. Our minds are quick to discover regular patterns, arcs and concentric circles, orbits across a vast panorama of light and darkness. Tracing our passage through time, these works simulate the feeling of stellar and planetary motion through perceptual play which creates virtual movement.
£3000
Alexandros Tsolakis
Tilt 08
2021/24
50 x 50 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
This series of Op Art, abstract visualisations, addresses elements of time, motion, perception, optics and space. We never truly see the entire night sky, the endless stars, galaxies and nebulae that infinitely surround us, layers of them going deep, as far as the beginning of space and time. Our eyes are developed enough to allow for just a slice of the whole volume. The stars appear static, eternal, always there at the same, or at least a similar, position. But, they do move. While they take small steps on an arc in our perspective, they span monumental distances in real life at incredible speeds. Just like us here on Earth. Long exposure photography (star trails) and computational modelling reveal that movement in high-definition, making visible our imperceptible movement on earth’s axis. Our minds are quick to discover regular patterns, arcs and concentric circles, orbits across a vast panorama of light and darkness. Tracing our passage through time, these works simulate the feeling of stellar and planetary motion through perceptual play which creates virtual movement.
£950
Installation shot: Tsolakis, Alexandros, 'Streams of Everything', series of 5 unique drawings in code, giclée print on paper, 2022/24
Tilt 3
Alexandros Tsolakis
2021/24
50 x 50 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
This series of Op Art, abstract visualisations, addresses elements of time, motion, perception, optics and space. We never truly see the entire night sky, the endless stars, galaxies and nebulae that infinitely surround us, layers of them going deep, as far as the beginning of space and time. Our eyes are developed enough to allow for just a slice of the whole volume. The stars appear static, eternal, always there at the same, or at least a similar, position. But, they do move. While they take small steps on an arc in our perspective, they span monumental distances in real life at incredible speeds. Just like us here on Earth. Long exposure photography (star trails) and computational modelling reveal that movement in high-definition, making visible our imperceptible movement on earth’s axis. Our minds are quick to discover regular patterns, arcs and concentric circles, orbits across a vast panorama of light and darkness. Tracing our passage through time, these works simulate the feeling of stellar and planetary motion through perceptual play which creates virtual movement.
£950
Alexandros Tsolakis
Streams 2
2022/24
80 x 60 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
How do you visualise the enormity of our universe? Galaxies such as our Milky Way, vast objects in themselves, are dwarfed by the magnitude of the universal structure. They appear as small dots on this immense scale, yet contain billions of star systems, and other celestial objects and phenomena. Trillions of these galaxies stream down cosmic highways, enveloped within endless voids, much like the neurons in our brains. The ‘tiny dot’ was Li Yuan-Chia’s pivotal visual invention; he considered his ‘Cosmic Point’ to be a ‘mark which conjured up infinite space, the beginning and end of all things’. This series visualises fragments, or abstract close-ups, of these instances of convergence and dispersion within the universal structure. The streams, composed of myriad ‘points’ that surge, ebb and flow, act as a metaphor for our own lives and relationships; our paths perpetually changing course as forces act upon us, we react, come together or drift apart.
£1250
Installation shot: Tsolakis, Alexandros, 'Tilt', series of 9 unique drawings in code, giclée print on paper, 2021/24
Streams 3
Alexandros Tsolakis
2022/24
80 x 60 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
How do you visualise the enormity of our universe? Galaxies such as our Milky Way, vast objects in themselves, are dwarfed by the magnitude of the universal structure. They appear as small dots on this immense scale, yet contain billions of star systems, and other celestial objects and phenomena. Trillions of these galaxies stream down cosmic highways, enveloped within endless voids, much like the neurons in our brains. The ‘tiny dot’ was Li Yuan-Chia’s pivotal visual invention; he considered his ‘Cosmic Point’ to be a ‘mark which conjured up infinite space, the beginning and end of all things’. This series visualises fragments, or abstract close-ups, of these instances of convergence and dispersion within the universal structure. The streams, composed of myriad ‘points’ that surge, ebb and flow, act as a metaphor for our own lives and relationships; our paths perpetually changing course as forces act upon us, we react, come together or drift apart.
£1250
Alexandros Tsolakis
Symphony 02
2022/24
30 x 75 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
This series of artworks is rooted in the visual language of musical notation; referencing the radical graphic scores of composers such as John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Cornelius Cardew and Brian Eno. Hundreds of notes/points spring to life on the same vertical axis (time), creating an intricate multilayered soundscape of crescendos, shock waves, swells and echoes. Kandinsky wrote, “form itself, even if completely abstract … has its own inner sound”. These compositions employ point arrangements to reveal visual equivalents to musical elements, such as harmony, frequency, texture or rhythm, evoking a fictional score of monumental scale and scope.
750
Symphony 07
Alexandros Tsolakis
2022/24
30 x 75 cm
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
This series of artworks is rooted in the visual language of musical notation; referencing the radical graphic scores of composers such as John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Cornelius Cardew and Brian Eno. Hundreds of notes/points spring to life on the same vertical axis (time), creating an intricate multilayered soundscape of crescendos, shock waves, swells and echoes. Kandinsky wrote, “form itself, even if completely abstract … has its own inner sound”. These compositions employ point arrangements to reveal visual equivalents to musical elements, such as harmony, frequency, texture or rhythm, evoking a fictional score of monumental scale and scope.
750
Unique drawing in code, giclée print on paper
Alexandros Tsolakis (b.1980) comes from a training in architecture and computation. From 2007 he expanded his practice into installation art as part of the collective United Visual Artists (UVA). As of 2018, he operates independently as a creative director and strategic masterplanner for large urban scale developments and projects, alongside his practice as a visual artist.
During the course of his career, Tsolakis has created artwork for major cultural institutions including the Bavarian State Opera, Barbican, Royal Academy of Arts, Southbank Centre, National Maritime Museum, Towner Gallery, Greek National Opera, Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM), United Nations, Fondation Cartier, La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris Opéra, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Opera North and others. He has collaborated with Google, Nike, Virgin, BMW and Hermes, as well as Sphere in Las Vegas.
More recently, Tsolakis has been focusing on hand-drawn works and painting, alongside his oeuvre in other media.
