Time is key in Savvas Theofanous’ work; it allows the fermentation to take place, allows matters to settle, yet, to emerge as well. Theofanous begins with an image, a primal image, mostly found, which comes as raw, uncut material seemingly triggering to him. The weight of the process falls more upon the handling of the image after its initial finding, opening the question of how it can be dealt with, of how one deals with an image that seems it has something to tell. Theofanous’ approach is neither one of appropriation nor one of post-production. It is a striving for ownness, one that moves beyond appropriation.

His acts and gestures are limited, nothing is superfluous, and nothing aspires to take an emblematic role. What is there instead is the capacity for sensuousness and a sense of responsibility -an act of care- to allow the image to find its place, to breathe, to clarify itself.

The image -the initial image- withdraws, it remains present but withheld. The withdrawal comes as a necessity for it to become more complete, to allow the parts that have triggered Theofanous’ interest to become more present.

Everything plays a deeply significant role in this process, and even though every element, line, and dot is of utmost importance, intuition holds an important place as well. There is a celebration of materials, of their tactility and their relation to light in such a subtle and minimal manner. Time and care, to name them again, become key in the process; everything falls where it should and the simplicity of every decision or gesture becomes simply disarming. Theofanous manages to unfold the images, or the elements of them that are of significance to him, to unconceal their stories and essence through concealing them. He manages to let the images open up while applying layers of paint on them.

Extract from George Kontis text