We have been fans of Brisbane-based, Greek-Australian artist Michael Zavros for more than a decade now, enthralled as much by the incredible detail of his hyper-realistic paintings as his use of humour, ambiguity and surreal juxtapositions that can’t help but entertain self-reflection. So it’s with great pleasure that we present “The Favourite”, a retrospective exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) that brings together more than 100 works, primarily paintings, as well as sculpture, video, and photography, spanning Zavros’ 25-year career.
Underpinned by his abiding interest in societal symbols of beauty, wealth and status, his subjects range from high fashion, luxury cars and European palaces, to Lipizzaner dressage horses and Japanese Onagadori chickens, through to Narcissus and even his own children. Connecting such diverse thematic explorations is the artist himself, the things he loves, possesses, or aspires to. Rendered in exacting detail, the artist’s idealised imagery reflects on modern society’s conspicuous consumption and self-absorbed culture, prompting viewers to consider their own desires and values, whilst functioning as a personal diary where art and life merge in the pursuit of beauty.