Ronis Varlaam is an artist whose career has traversed multiple creative disciplines before finding its most powerful expression in painting. With a foundation in filmmaking, Varlaam studied at the prestigious London Film School, where he developed a strong sense of narrative, visual rhythm, and emotional storytelling. He went on to produce and direct several documentaries for television, exploring the complexity of human experience and the subtleties of perception through the moving image.
Yet, over time, his interests expanded beyond film into broader artistic practices. Photography, video, and conceptual art became part of his evolving creative journey. Despite this multidisciplinary approach, Varlaam has come to identify primarily as a painter, an artist who translates ideas, emotions, and fleeting moments into visual form on canvas.
A Prolific Exhibition History
Over the course of his career, Varlaam has participated in more than 40 exhibitions, earning recognition both nationally and internationally. His work has also been featured in over 20 publications, establishing his voice within the contemporary art world.
Varlaam’s art has been shown in some of the most respected venues for emerging and established artists. He was a finalist in the Jerwood Drawing Prize exhibitions and participated in the Creekside Open, the Discerning Eye, and the National Open Art Exhibition. His paintings have been displayed at the Royal Watercolour Society, the Florian Museum in Romania, Melina Mercouri Hall in Nicosia, and Project Berlin, showcasing the breadth of his international presence.
His career highlights also include participation in major art fairs and global events such as Scope Art Miami, and significant cultural landmarks like the Venice Biennale and even the Louvre in Paris. These experiences not only mark the recognition of his talent but also reflect his ability to engage diverse audiences across different cultures.
Artistic Practice and Vision
Although his creative path began in film, Varlaam’s practice has always been rooted in curiosity about how people perceive, remember, and emotionally connect to the world around them. His engagement with multiple mediums reflects his restless search for the most effective ways to communicate ideas. Photography, video, and conceptual installations remain part of his practice, but painting is the medium in which his vision crystallizes most vividly.
For Varlaam, painting is not just a technical process but an intellectual and emotional exploration. His canvases often balance figuration and abstraction, incorporating both intuitive expression and deliberate conceptual frameworks. He seeks to give form to fleeting sensations, moments of presence, encounters that vanish, and the intangible aura that lingers when people or experiences pass out of our lives.
The Nature of Things: A Series in Evolution
Among Varlaam’s most significant projects is his ongoing experimental series, The Nature of Things. This body of work has passed through various stages of development, each pushing the boundaries of how paint, form, and concept interact. Over time, the series has matured into something deeply personal and innovative, culminating in a new way of applying paint to figurative compositions.
One painting from this series, created in 2023 using acrylic on deep-edge canvas, embodies the essence of Varlaam’s vision. It reflects on the ephemeral nature of human encounters, those moments when strangers briefly intersect with our lives, leaving behind a trace of presence before vanishing forever. As Varlaam describes, such individuals “come into our lives for a few seconds and then disappear forever, taking their aura with them.”
This theme resonates with universal human experience: the transient nature of connection, the way memory holds fragments of what once was, and the impossibility of fully capturing what is lost. By transforming this idea into visual form, Varlaam allows viewers to contemplate the beauty, fragility, and inevitability of impermanence.
Technique and Innovation
What makes The Nature of Things particularly striking is not just its concept but also its technical innovation. Varlaam discovered a new method of applying paint that brings fresh dynamism to figurative painting. While acrylic is his chosen medium, his approach reimagines its potential, allowing for textures and visual effects that suggest both presence and dissolution at once.
This experimental quality mirrors the conceptual focus of the work. Just as the figures in the series appear to exist for a moment before dissolving, so too does the painterly surface evoke instability and transformation. It is an art that speaks both to the materiality of paint and to the immateriality of human experience.
Recognition and Influence
Varlaam’s commitment to experimentation and his ability to merge concept with craft have earned him recognition from curators, critics, and institutions across the world. His inclusion in exhibitions from London to Berlin, Miami to Venice, is a testament not only to the strength of his work but also to its capacity to transcend cultural boundaries.
Beyond recognition, his art contributes to broader conversations in contemporary painting. It asks viewers to reflect on time, memory, and presence questions that resonate across disciplines, from philosophy to psychology. By situating his practice within these universal themes, Varlaam ensures that his paintings are not only visually striking but also intellectually and emotionally engaging.
Conclusion: The Poetics of Transience
Ronis Varlaam’s journey from filmmaking to painting reflects a profound evolution of artistic purpose. While his early work in film and documentary trained him in the art of observation, it is through painting that he has found the most powerful way to distill and transform experience.
With The Nature of Things, Varlaam offers a poetic meditation on the fleeting encounters that shape our lives. His innovative technique, combined with a deep conceptual core, makes his work both distinctive and timeless. In every canvas, he captures not just the visible world but also the invisible traces left behind when moments, people, and experiences slip away.
In a world defined by constant movement and change, Varlaam’s art reminds us of the beauty of impermanence and of the quiet, enduring power of painting to hold what cannot be held.
Contact
Email: ronisvarlaam@hotmail.com
