NICK STATHOPOULOS, Where Grasses Now Stand Still

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Rex-Livingston in Katoomba presents the second solo exhibition held at the gallery by well known and greatly admired Katoomba and Sydney artist, Nick Stathopoulos.  

Some artists seem content to grow their brand by painting the same subject over and over—but not Nick Stathopoulos. He isn’t that kind of artist. A realist painter, Stathopoulos has always embraced variety, both in subject and in style.

Where Grasses Now Stand Still—an extensive or impressive collection—is also the title of Nick’s latest exhibition at Rex-Livingston Art + Objects in Katoomba. Following the success of his previous show in Jan 2025, this new body of work once again showcases the extraordinary range of his talent. The subjects vary from delicate still lifes to jewel-like miniature landscapes, rich in expressive textures and detail. Many are presented in the classic 9 x 5-inch format, all exquisitely framed.

Working from his studio in the Blue Mountains, Nick draws constant inspiration from the region’s ever-changing atmosphere and light. Its shifting horizons and expansive skies provide endless material for his moody, evocative landscapes. “The seasonal changes are so distinct, and the vibrant colours so intense that they seem totally unreal,” he says. “That’s a real gift for any artist.”

A self-taught painter, Nick’s talent was evident from an early age. As a child, he entered countless art competitions—winning his first while still in kindergarten. He vividly recalls one Book Week assignment: “While the other kids were fumbling with their crayons, I drew my teacher bending over to take a book off a shelf. I still remember the astonished look on her face.” It’s a look he saw again years later on the faces of viewers at the 2016 Archibald Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW, when they encountered his commanding hyper-real portrait of refugee lawyer Deng Adut—winner of that year’s People’s Choice Award.

Although portraiture has brought him widespread recognition—he has been a finalist in the Archibald nine times—this new exhibition demonstrates his devotion to capturing any subject with absolute precision and detail.

If there is one aspect that defines Nick’s work, it’s his obsessive attention to detail. He recalls a moment of revelation: “Around the age of fifteen, I sat transfixed by an episode of Sir Kenneth Clark’s The Romantic Rebellion: Romantic Versus Classic Art. That episode focused on the French Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), whom I’d never heard of. How could anyone paint with such realism? It looked photographic. That! I wanted to do that. But how?”

So began a lifelong quest. As a self-taught artist, Nick’s evolving mastery can be traced through each successive exhibition. Over the years—while trying to understand Ingres—he has developed a form of realism entirely his own.

Having known Nick for many years, fellow artist Shaun Tan offers an intimate perspective:
“Nick’s subjects over the years are nothing if not diverse. I get the impression this is not something he has adopted as a mission or artistic agenda. It’s simply an honest reflection of how the world seems to be—how things look to an open eye and an empathetic heart. How everybody might be seen on their own terms, as equally strange and familiar, all the more so for being sharpened and subtly transformed by meticulous brushwork and an intense painterly focus.”

That’s true. Nick paints in a deeply idiosyncratic way, shaped by his unique way of seeing the world. Like Ingres, his work is highly detailed and superficially photographic—but on closer inspection, there’s much more to it. His realism transcends what any camera can capture. His technique seems ideally suited to rendering the sheen of vinyl, the chipped paint on a rusting robot, or the crinkle of an aging box. Those carefully observed details breathe life into his paintings.

Beyond achieving a perfect likeness—whether depicting a figurine of Astro Boy or an Archibald portrait—Nick insists that each work must also possess artistic integrity, something more elusive to define. Art critic Andrew Frost reflects:
“Nick Stathopoulos is a remarkable painter, and not just because he is self-taught. Over the decades, his works have evolved in both technique and approach, yet his fascination with the nature of visuality has always been central. Although realist painting offers no mercy to the artist, it is an extraordinary painter who can infuse the seen with something unknown.”

Still, some viewers have an aversion to photo-realism, dismissing it as somehow lesser than more impressionistic forms. “Why not just take a photo?” they ask. Artist and lecturer Leslie Rice of the National Art School offers a different perspective:
“There is a sophisticated and compelling painting game of invention, materiality, and narrative being played here by Nick. To categorise his oeuvre as photo-realism is to sell it short. Whereas photo-realism often coldly celebrates the banality of its subject matter, the paintings in this show do no such thing.”

Unconcerned by labels, Stathopoulos continues to paint in his singular style—capturing the glint of sunset on a cloud or the quiet shadow of a still life—as he assembles his latest, and most expansive, Where Grasses Now Stand Still exhibition.