Konstantin Dimopoulos

Konstantin Dimopoulos was born in Egypt but moved to Wellington at the age of eight. He is a conceptual and social artist whose art practice is grounded in his sociological and humanist philosophies. His powerful and often thought provoking artistic practices investigate globally relevant questions related to ecology and the human condition. His multidisciplinary art practice incorporates sculpture, installation, performance, painting, printing and drawing in the creation of monumental imagery, social and environmental interventions and conceptual proposals that argue the potential of ‘art’ as a means of social engagement and change. These evolving pictorial narratives are descriptive of varied issues like domestic violence, environmental ecocide, homelessness, and genocide. His early paintings and prints explored the human condition, but in the 1990s flexible shafts of carbon fiber became his new material of choice for purely linear, abstract kinetic sculptures exploring the volatility of natural forces. His pared-down colour palette led to primarily monochromatic applications, also visible in his large-scale steel sculptures. Installations such as Level 4 and Kroc and the Creation of the Big Byte, at public gallery and museum venues explored the ‘viral’ aspect within contemporary civilization. The Blue Trees, an ongoing environmental art intervention, has been realised around the United States, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.