Now Representing: Australian Sculptor Basil Papoutsidis

In conversation

We are pleased to announce representation of Australian sculptor, Basil Papoutsidis. 

 

Basil Papoutsidis (b. Melbourne) is a sculptor whose work explores the context of formalist abstraction, alongside the utility of construction specific material. The fabrication of metals is of particular interest within Papoutsidis’ work, where forms are broken and repositioned, fused to bond an absence that identifies the partial industrial object.

 

Papoutsidis’ practice explores the aesthetic course of material behaviour through deconstruction, utilising the post-painterly idea of object as subject matter. Papoutsidis completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Visual Art) at The Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne in 2014. He has exhibited in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Tokyo, and holds work in public and private collections.

 

In the conversation below, we discuss with Papoutsidis his engagement with metal, and how movement, design and abstraction converges in his practice. 

September 17, 2025
  • OTOMYS: Your practice engages closely with metal and its possibilities for transformation. What first drew you to this material, and what continues to inspire you as you work with it?
     
    BASIL PAPOUTSIDIS: Through my experience as a tradesman, material behaviour has always transferred into my sculptural practice. Metal has always had great possibility, and through its fabrication prospects, I have developed a fanaticism with it. I first learnt it’s use through my father, who taught me most of what I know about working with my hands. What continues my interest is the ongoing potential I can learn about its behaviour and utilising that to create compositions and objects that show its strength.
  • OTOMYS: Movement, design, and abstraction seem to converge in your sculptures. How do these influences shape the way you develop and refine new works?
     
    BASIL PAPOUTSIDIS: I utilise a hierarchical filter when creating compositions, which are mostly intuitively constructed through making. A dominant, sub-dominant and subordinate element should always be present to achieve a balanced composition, a design tool that I use to help in final decision making when making work. I am interested in the post-painterly ideas of formalist abstraction, such as object as subject matter.
  • OTOMYS: There’s often a dialogue in your practice between conceptual ideas and the practical realities of making. Can you share an instance where the process of construction led you in an unexpected direction?
     
    BASIL PAPOUTSIDIS: The process of construction often is the main process, and unexpected results occur through the ever changing possibilities of the material. The material usually acts as a vehicle to the final result, whether successful or not.
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