Jim Thalassoudis’ art follows the soul’s night journey and comes to life in urban cityscapes.
His paintings delve into the artificial modern glow of sleeping cities and mesmerising, lurid skies coloured by the glare of the setting sun.
As we look at his works, we walk the streets, drive past the motels and wonder at the light that conjures more than the zenith’s transparency.
” It feels good to be in Sydney again and of course a privilege to be part of Nanda/Hobbs gallery, known as Art Equity,” Thalassoudis tells Neos Kosmos.
The artist’s paintings are deeply considered homages to the majesty of the sky, focusing on neon-filled lights that point and snake their way through our night cityscapes, a technology first used in 1910.”The man who paints the sky” is enough of a description to fit the back of his business card.
Love Art
“There is something about photos of beautiful skies … It’s possible to look at the sky every day. You take it for granted and don’t really stop to look at it. Actually look at it.
“But then you see a photo of that sky you sit and stare at it astonished,” he muses.
The time from before the sun sets to just after has a magic allure that Thalassoudis loves not only to capture, but to also recreate in order to complement other works.
“Capturing what normally is elusive and ever-changing, preserving it in paint and made still for all time, allows the viewer to identify meanings that resonate from within.”
The Greek Australian artist spends up to seven weeks painting non-stop in order to truthfully and realistically portray ‘momentums’.
Hours and hours of work goes into the tiniest details of glowing neon lines on the advertising structures, statuesque and silver luminescent linings.
“I recreate the images and move things around to serve certain purposes, yet all my works are quite realistic,” Thalassoudis continues.
“My art is based on photography but paint prevails.”
Descent into the night
There is quite a powerful artistry if you view his paintings from up close, notice the detail in the skies. The works are six feet high and there are hundreds of windows and features that are accurate down to the smallest things.
For Thalassoudis, it is all about recreating the atmosphere of a particular place in time but at the same time, signifying our obsession with bright, shiny objects with a slight tropical-retro look.
“There are so many signs and symbols, and labels around Australia,” he says. “Vintage and retro landmarks like fish and chip shops, carnivals, like this elephant on the top of a children’s ride … Many things that disappear day by day as the city gets modernised.”
The idea behind the ‘Luminous Night’ exhibition was originally to pay homage to the power of signs. However, the initial vision has leaned towards Thalassoudis’ more recent works, his ‘Love Art’ wall-work, created in neon. He is inspired by everyday settings that “catch my quirky eye”.
“Every painting has a story behind it, like the skipping girl neon-sign painting,” he goes on.
“She’s an iconic Victorian sign skipping as the lights behind her, the life, expands through Melbourne.”
I’m just happy to be here
The girl appealed to him because of her nostalgic, emotional aspect. Despite being an old, even outdated construction, she exudes beauty and youthfulness.
“I am very into nostalgic aspects,” he says, admitting he went to extremes to get a photo of this iconic Melbourne sign from the right angle.
“It took me months to get the right frame and gain access to the building adjacent to it.”
“I was after a very elevated height from the roof to get the feeling that she’s skipping into the modern city skyline,” he adds.
This painting is an homage to Melbourne. Its hot summer nights. The sky is burning, the lights are lit.
“You can actually see life happening through these hundreds of little lights sparkling like flames in the buildings.”
“It’s a luminous conversation with eternity.”
Pink Poodle Motel
Jim Thalassoudis’ work is all the way connected to a past. The artist has never been interested in people, however, when looking into his paintings, one can’t help but imagine people …
“Catching the beauty of a moment is what matters to me,” he notes.
“I don’t necessarily look for landmarks but sometimes a place can become a landmark as it connects to so many moments and people’s experiences.”
Several of his photos-turned-to-paintings have indeed become landmarks. His famous Happy To Be Here elephant and Love Art sign works are now intertwined with the Australian city landscape.
“It is not simple … I had to take photos of that carnival ride elephant from the right angle while little children were riding it. The parents were alarmed. They thought I was a pervert,” he says.
“I had to explain that I’m just an artist. This is what I do. It doesn’t always make sense to everyone.
“Another time, I was photographing a love sign above an adult shop … a motel sign … and a woman happened to be hiding there from an abusive partner.”
Thalassoudis could talk endlessly on every cloud, every ray of light painted into his skies and every bit of information completing his imagery.
“There is a meaning and a purpose behind everything, in every city.”
His work expands from Australia to overseas and especially to America where he focuses on neon signs, labels and retro cityscape elements.
“There are so many symbols of a gone era that lay in abundance across New York and California that I would like to capture,” Thalassoudis says, promising to return to Melbourne. “Victoria has also kept some treasures; most of the time we fail to notice what surrounds us until its gone.” How very true.
Endless Summer
To find out more about Jim and his work head to www.jimthalassoudis.blogspot.com.au and www.nandahobbs.com
Exhibition opening hours are from 9.00 am-5.00 pm Monday to Friday, or by appointment. Address: Level 1, 66 King Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000. For more information email info@nandahobbs.com or phone +61 2 9262 6660.