Vasilis Sjögren Tzanetopoulos
Vasilis was born in 1989 in Athens, splitting his childhood between Athens and Gällivare, Northern Sweden. From 2012 to 2014, Vasilis studied painting at Gothenburg School of Art. In the years that followed, he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Fine Art at The Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm from 2014 to 2019. Today, Vasilis divides his time between the studio in the Old Town of Athens and Stockholm
Rötter (Roots)
My latest work and the main theme of this exhibition, Roots, focuses on the complexityof nurturing and sustaining life: the geometry, the networks, and the arteries that build this incredibly complex system. It grew on me while we were expecting our first child. Ibegan to view things differently, nothing grand or dramatic, it was silent, subtle, yet very strong. It was a sound, more like a low frequency echoing in my chest. I understood how fragile we are, and I felt a different kind of fear. I saw the enormous effort of nature to make life possible. As the umbilical cord provided for our child, so does the soil and roots sustain everything green and alive around us. It was the dedication and the discipline of these increasingly complex structures that awoke my fascination. The unstoppable force of a sprout reaching for the sun. During this period, I started to sketch roots. It was my way of appreciating this wonderful process
Burned Soil - Canvas (Cabot) - 180*130
Brisk (Breeze) - Canvas (Cabot) – 130*100
Mangrove - Canvas (Cabot) - 180*130
Night-Natten
My work, Natten (Night), revolves around its incredible palette and the romance
surrounding it. The reflection of the moon and stars allows colors and nuances to emerge in such a subtle manner. Cold, crystal light bathes the landscape and gives way to shyer tones and forms, colors that the sun would scare off and scatter. The atmosphere and rhythm that unfold in all landscapes throughout the night are elements I revisit and reimagine again and again. The night offers me the space to breathe in freedom. No one sees, no one dares to venture far. Though we humans believe we've conquered the Earth, few are willing to swim in a dark sea or walk through a deep forest at night. It is a primordial feeling of respect and awe, rooted deep within us. An ancient fear in a modern world. The inaccessibility of the dark gives me hope, for it is untamed.
Natt (Night) - Canvas (Cabot) - 200*200
Night in July - Recycled Canvas (Cotton) – 50*40
Natt (Night) - Recycled Canvas (Cotton) - 60*45
Grottan (Cave) - Recycled Canvas (Cotton) – 60*45
Heat-Värmen.
During my summers in Athens, painting becomes almost unbearable. Colors shift and melt, nothing dries, and my focus slips away. The heat is overwhelming. People are louder, hurried, and I find myself increasingly annoyed. I accomplish very little. Yet,there’s something primal that surfaces in all my warm landscapes, a slow-moving, wandering presence. The sharpness fades, everything blurs, and the air is so heavy with scent. It's slow. Through my practice, I always try to ground myself: not too many colors, easy on the details, and where can the eye rest? The heat takes care of that; it gives room for calmness, and harmony emerges unwillingly.
Arizona - Canvas (Cabot) – 100*70
Wanderer - Recycled Canvas (Cotton) - 50*40