Lives in Montréal, Canada
Website https://www.foldgallery.com/artist/valerie-kolakis/
How do you describe your own art practice?
I would describe my art practice as an exploration of domesticity, displacement and everyday objects through sculptural works that confront our ideas of representation and reality.
Fold Gallery London, UK.
Which question or theme is central in your work?
My work is an exploration of architectonics in relation to issues of migration, displacement and change. The underlining themes behind my work are of subtraction, vacancy and the false referent in the urban landscape. Specifically, it is a conceptual investigation of how identity is constructed and subsequently constrained by society and its physical spaces. At the core of this is a questioning of the idea of biography.
Fold Gallery London, UK.
What was your first experience with art?
My earliest memories are of my father and I walking and exploring the city we lived in (Athens, Greece). Whether we walked around ancient ruins or paused to look at some modernist building I was fascinated (I still am). This has always felt like my first experience with art.
Fold Gallery London, UK.
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
I am generally inspired by what is around me whether it is a pile of discarded rugs or a window display. It is the connections that I make between the things that are around me that is my source of inspiration.
Steel, Concrete, Glass and Bathmats.
What do you need in order to create your work?
More than anything else I need my laptop and time in order to create work.
Cement Casts of Buckets and Remnant Sofa Cushion. Varied Dimensions.
What work or artist has most recently surprised you?
Sadly, the opportunity to see work has been affected by travel restrictions, social distancing and exhibitions cancelations. I have been viewing exhibitions that have been made available on-line and reading about current projects. One exhibition that I would have liked to have seen is The Futureless Memory at Kunsthaus Hamburg.
Florescent Lamp and Plastic Lace. 45 cm.
