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C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w

I was born in Athens and grew up in Aspropyrgos a city close to Elefsis . My love for painting along with a strong desire to express myself as I wish drive me to conclude in 1993 my studies in art restoration . I have worked at the Ministry of Culture for many years on icons and frescoes of the 13th- 18th century along with the organizing of Ecclesiastical Museum ’ s in the Cyclades island ’ s region . I have worked abroad in a conservation studio in Nantes , France , and I have participated in conferences on image . My studies in painting have to do with the icono painting and freehand drawing . My theme ’ s are anthropocentric , based on humans both as a unit and as an entity . From the moment of their concieve , humans have the right to live equally in the universe with their other fellows . My concerns revolve around the dipole shape of " appearances " and " real " - around the essence of things versus the artificial or plausible . The " appearances " that may result from the imposition of social rules and ' real ' on the equality of people without discrimination . Between " we should " and " we feel ", up to freedom of thought , freedom of choice , on a human basis . It is a dialogue between me and the viewer on an emotional level , recalling unconscious values , identifying equality with others alike .

A key aspect of Lars Vilhelmsen ’ s working method is the fact that he works ‘ in the moment ’, very quickly arranging objects to create a tableaux and then snaps the shutter . The finished pieces therefore become stories rather than sculptures ; lingering too long over an arrangement would defeat the purpose altogether . Once the photograph is taken , the objects go back into circulation , being delivered back to where they were found , or sometimes given away , to continue their travels , leave their traces , perhaps make more stories . One can imagine the artist hiding objects here and there , so that they can have a journey , collecting and leaving traces and stories along the way , and it is this wonderfully imaginative perspective that comes across in the work .

Recycled objects play an important role in Lars Vilhelmsens artwork . Found objects , recycled ‘ everyday ’ objects such as an empty container and even plants or flowers collected from a cemetery or crime scene find their way into his work . These nod towardsmassproductionbut more importantly , they become vehicles to unfold stories of lives lived by the mundane , everyday traces we leave behind .

Then I was a child I was frequently asked who I want to be , and I always answered – “ An artist !” actually I have no other dream – and I fulfilled it . But it is just a beginning . I think that I always was interested in hidden side of things , in the words that were not said , in the other , dark side of human`s personality . The “ real ”, material issue of visible world is far less attractive for me , though I`m fascinating by its harmony . So I can say that my art is about Man as a part of the Universe , about his connection and relationships with different aspects of reality . Actually I`d like people to become perceptive to the whole surrounding world as they used to be in the past , then technology was not established as a new religion . But as an artist of visual arts I`m very sensitive to the beauty and power of our world . I`m yearning to express the overall fierce harmony – of colors , movement , bodies . This is my visual language that I combine with abstract elements and structures . Actually I try to find and compose the lost parts and to create some kind of “ divine ” pictures like icons , to make people think about spiritual part of themselves . I don`t believe in destructive art . For that reason I often take religious subjects like Passover Haggadah or Jonah the Prophet , but try to discover a hidden problem and to find an alternative meaning .

Food and how it is managed is a recent theme in my work . This shift in my practice from my usual portrait photography occurred as a result of my reaction to what I discovered in my garden after a frost . To my dismay the abundant produce was not just frozen but ruined . Although I was unable to salvage the produce , I felt compelled to photograph the damage . I was overcome with emotion by the loss and neglect . The image of Jean Francois Millet ' s " The Gleaners " came to mind . This reflection and experience led me to research about how food is managed ; the excess , the loss , the lack , distribution , environmental concerns and so on . In this ongoing series , I gathered up the remnants from my garden and began to photograph . In my experimentation , the results were unexpected and expected . In my process , I was thinking about the value of food was like precious jewels . As I was working in various processes , including a camera-less approach , the results from my food scraps were surprising in how they transformed into unidentifiable gem-like images of beauty . This was my intent .

Painting is a means . To give me have freedom to express views , think about socially of me . Personally I see there are many problems and paradoxical contradictions in society today . My works are seeking some imagery lampooned on the human condition in the context of Vietnam now . with the impact of global contexts , cultures collide , between the old and new . This is my the process of work and explores my creativity many recent years . I try refine and built up a special image of my own , I wanted to find get a form condensed that it fully reflects Social realism . I think every artist has certain “ obsessions ” which are red threads running throughout many of their works - sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously . Such works as " Happy Design " or " Broken Believer ” clearly reflect this aspect : You can easily see that there are ominous shapes looming and chaos in the work , everything is intertwined . It flows like sewage peppered with many rods stabbing into the painting .

I have a strong fascination for conceptual and theoretical physics , especially in relation to how shapes and sounds influence human perception . Both sounds and images are expressions by which we understand and connect with one another and our reality . But yes , our Western society favors visual logic , because half the work is already done for us . We don ’ t need to imagine because a screen does it for us . But I think the same can apply for sound , especially with music being as abundant and disseminated as it is today . The point I ’ m making is that both sound and images bombard the average westernized human , and I do not care to alter or question that per se , but rather to use that phenomena of bombardment for the spiritual benefit of the masses . Solfeggios frequencies have an incredible psychic effect , that many of us can not easily understand , because we are not trained to see , touch or manipulate vibrations . But our subtle energy bodies do that work for us , and we are lucky enough to no longer have to seek that out . It is a gift .