Reclaiming My Pride Presents Paul Anagnostopoulos

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Artist Bio

Paul Anagnostopoulos is an artist working in painting and printmaking. He graduated with a BFA from New York University in 2013. He interned at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection during the 2013 Venice Biennale. In 2014, Paul participated in residencies in Joshua Tree, CA and Akumal, Mexico. During 2015, he worked for Marlborough Chelsea and completed a residency with Endless Editions. In 2016-17, Paul was an exhibiting resident artist at the SÍM Residency, the Wassaic Project, AIAR Mexico, the Vermont Studio Center, Brooklyn Art Space and the Hafnarborg Museum. Paul currently works in New York for the artist Sean Scully.

Here he is in his own words:

Description of Artwork

My submission “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” is acrylic and oil on stretched canvas, 30 by 24 inches. My work conveys a grandiose narrative that operates analogously to ancient legends. Echoing classic forms, this painting highlights the impossibility of obtaining otherworldly perfection. Through images I construct portals to a mythical dimension. They are not necessarily accessible to the viewer, but serve as evidence of an idyllic paradise. The black squares deliberately eliminating parts of the landscape as if a visual representation of an unclear memory. They serve as postcards from an archaic journey that may or may not have been experienced. The core of my conceptual practice concerns itself with notions of intimacy. Longing and desire are among the most common tropes in ancient mythology. The navigation of desire, specifically in terms of the queer male, is the main narrative arc I employ. Each work serves as a visual manifestation of an imprisoning emotional state, ending in either triumph or pain. The paintings dismantle our society’s disaffinity towards male intimacy and celebrate a tender masculinity. Through the dissection of these systems, I examine their significances and then recreate them from my own experiences to tell queer stories.

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