Stir Gallery is pleased to present "In search of a composition", an exhibition of paintings by Greek artist Yorgos Papageorgiou, who has lived and painted in China for the past five years. His works have been exhibited at Today Art Museum and Yishu8 gallery in Beijing, and Shanghai's Expo.

Yorgos's paintings in this exhibition were created during his stay in Beijing. They are emotional records, rather than historical records, of his living experience in China, although he often uses old photographs that he has collected from flea markets throughout Beijing. These photographs collaged in the paintings add a dimension not only in spatial terms but also in psychological layers. They are reminiscences of a culture in which the eerie recent past has been quickly displaced by the noisy present. Rather than trying to capture signs of the outward physical experience of culture, the artist looks inward in search of emotional connection.

The paintings often consist of repetitions of grids and patterns that visualize the sensation of composition such in both music and poetry. Beauty lies within subtle rhythms, which transcend complex emotions through artist's rendering of sensuous lines, shapes, texture, colours and torn paper. The visual elements are arranged in almost perfect harmony and yet are full of potentials that would cause "chemical reaction." Whether these potentials are created consciously or unconsciously by the artist, the delicate act of composing requires the right amount of both passion and calm. Yorgos is in search of a composition, of a balance, as if his paintings were a piece of music that is composed of universal notes.