Leave all hope 1973

Editor: Alekos Kontopoulos' "Leave All Hope", dating to 1973, uses oil paint and drawing techniques in tandem. I find the work both intriguing and unsettling—the fractured portrait evokes a strong sense of emotional turmoil. What strikes you most when you look at this piece? Curator: What strikes me… well, isn't it like gazing through shattered glass, seeing a reflection of the self, perhaps after a rather seismic emotional event? The geometric partitioning doesn't just fragment the figure; it amplifies the rawness of human feeling, that tender agony, perhaps? Notice how the colors are muted, as if grief has leached the vibrancy from the world. Do you feel a sense of enforced constraint as well? Editor: Absolutely! The figure feels trapped, not only by the geometric lines but also by some implied narrative or emotion we can’t quite grasp. I wonder if that trapped sensation is intentional, something Kontopoulos wanted to express? Curator: Precisely. I get a distinct echo of Modernism—a searching, fractured identity, echoing the uncertainties of a world in constant flux, doesn’t it? Think about it: does the painting hint at a universal truth? An admission of the limitations of hope? Editor: That’s a very interesting take! I hadn’t considered the idea of hope as a limit, but I do see how the lack of clear narrative contributes to a feeling of searching. I'll definitely look at this differently now. Curator: Splendid! Perhaps sometimes "leaving hope" is less a resignation and more a liberation. The beginning of something. Isn’t it?