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Work Samples

Ladies Lounge, Paramount Theatre | Oakland, CA

picture-palaces, movie-palaces, cinema, theatres, theaters, Americana, 20th-century, architecture, architectural, decorative
Photograph from the series "Architecture of Gilded Dreams."

Backgammon, Hibiscus, & Muffins

conversations, food, smartphones, interaction, breaking bread, technology, family, friends
Photograph from the series "Isolation Games."

Elevenses

Elevenses
Photograph from the series "Conversations."

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About Christos

Baltimore County

Christos Palios's picture
As a first-generation Greek-American, Christos' perspectives were shaped by two disparate, yet fascinating cultures. The artist's practice is born from a wellspring of inspiration among themes of memory, connection, and identity, consummated by intimate examinations of history, architecture, and socioeconomics. Employing multifaceted approaches rooted in research and with an appreciation of metaphorical and physical space, the artist's photographs evoke compelling, palpable awareness through distinct,... more

Pleasure Domes: Architecture of Gilded Dreams

The early 20th-century ushered in an audacious American gem: the picture-palace. As "movie-magic" glamour permeated society, pleasure domes of euphoric pageantry sprouted up across the nation. For few cents visitors transported into theatrical “playhouses” of enchanting cultures. Grandeur, symmetry, and sight lines captivate, while each interior's eclectic ornamentation reveals diverse competition. Stripped of visitors and photographed with ambient lighting, decorative styles appear—allegorical motifs, silky damask, gilded surfaces, intricate carvings befitting spectacle. A quietude surrounds me as past resonates into present, reflecting souls of magnificent places. As custodians of a bygone era, their flamboyance showcases cultural allure for assembly, storytelling, and opulence. Cinema as accessible entertainment subverted class distinctions upheld in classical theatre. George Rapp of then-firm Rapp&Rapp: “Here is a shrine to democracy where wealthy rub elbows with the poor.” As citizens embrace shifting connections in consumerist cultures, I aim to preserve these distinguished social spaces' relevance and rich memories.

Isolation Games

At the dawn of 2020, universal freedoms were renegotiated as the world receded into quarantine. Lifestyles were fraught with apprehension surrounding social implications of an unapologetic threat among our collective future. We promptly discovered detachment drastically shifts routine and tests psychology. Humanity's fragile inter-connectedness amid a surreal stillness became a germane allegory of solidarity and perseverance in an uncertain world. 

With natural light befitting mood, each tabletop represents distraction and amusement, a need seemingly amplified in a skewed world. As pastimes rooted in tradition, like mythology and literature, games are cultural agents for human experience—the zeitgeist of societies. While passing the time at home during isolation, on an old coffee table where memories abound, games cultivated safety, intimacy, and warmth among limited human presence. As serendipitous surrogates to customary social interactions, these moments hearkened back to a seemingly lost tradition, to nostalgic times from which I've reassessed valued relationships and my habitual approach to daily life. I grew intrigued by items, surface textures, and backgrounds encompassing an adjusted at-home mindset, a meditative glimpse of indirect portraiture. Reflecting upon and freshly embracing what essentially matters in this paused, ambiguous arc of time, has suddenly come into sharp[er] focus. 

Conversations

A shared meal reveals tradition and offers windows into culture, provides discourse, and speaks to identity. Personal electronic devices have rapidly modified our communal experiences. Our new paradigm of exchange, a routine of frequently consulting screen-tech, has become accepted and customary. We retreat into self-imposed, momentary bubbles of curation, oftentimes while in the presence of others. This new dichotomy is particularly observed among the time-honored and intimate surfaces where we break bread daily. For this series, I contemplate the indomitable implications technology has on human interaction by documenting personal meals shared with friends and family. Evoking the Dutch Golden Age genre of still-life painting as an aesthetic foundation, I intend these photographs as contemporary anecdotal counterparts representing the frenetic, hyper-convenient, always-connected, consumerist epoch of instant gratification.

  • Catharsis

    Catharsis
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Confabulate

    Confabulate
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Pixel

    Pixel
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Camaraderie

    Photograph of "Camaraderie."
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Mediterranean

    Mediterranean
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Furor

    Furor
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Extemporaneous

    Extemporaneous
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Heritage

    Heritage
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Bittersweet Inevitable

    Bittersweet Inevitable
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."
  • Elevenses

    Elevenses
    Archival pigment print, from the series "Conversations."

Ísland

Standing on enormously diverse geology ranging from fiery inferno to glacial chill—both often within a stone's throw of each other—I set out to capture dynamic and elemental vistas while informing a visual thesis on fragile geothermal terrain. Iceland is an island nation of significant ongoing tectonic activity in tandem to a prolific source of renewable energy and a genesis of new topography. 

In the face of increasing human impact upon natural environments in the Anthropocene, these photographs document protected otherworldly landscapes within a culture which reveres nature. Contemplating dualities of consumerism and unadulterated beauty within an unsustainable ecosystem of increasing populations and tourism, in the Icelandic countryside I can still confidently drink water directly from a flowing river. Hearkening back to photography's roots, an aesthetic sensibility of less-modified, more nostalgic color palettes and all-encompassing perspectives inspired my approach as I traversed volatile vistas on this majestic land.

Sarakiniko

Unrelenting winds and formidable waves contour this volcanic silvery-white landscape into luminous, lunar-like surfaces unique to the Aegean Sea. Sharp cliffs, caves and valleys, occupants on amorphous alien terrain—I find myself enraptured and mesmerized. Sarakiniko feels like a notable nexus, a collective liminal ground of enchantment and study on the island of Milos. Among a diversity of visitors immersed in mutual awe, I momentarily disentangle from life’s customary bustle.Each explorer’s ephemeral approach summarily comprises the endless dream-like dynamism experienced here. As a former aspiring astronomer captivated by the cosmos, this majestic natural place rekindled fond moments of wonder and discovery.

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Christos's Curated Collection

This artist has not yet created a curated collection.