Liza Kottou 1947

George Bouzianis’s “Liza Kottou” was painted with oil on canvas, a traditional fine art medium. Yet, there’s nothing traditional about the way he uses it. Bouzianis doesn't try to hide the labor involved. He gives us the ochres, blues, and greens with a directness that lets the painting declare itself as a crafted object, not a window onto reality. Look how the colors are blended and layered, yet retain their own qualities of substance, texture, weight, color and form. Notice also how the brushstrokes themselves remain visible, a record of the artist’s movements as he worked. The painting reminds us that every artwork is the result of human labor, and choices made in the studio, or the workshop. And that these processes have imbued the artwork with social and cultural significance, alongside that of fine art.