Archer Defterios is a Greek-American artist based in Los Angeles, California, known for his richly layered, process-driven work that explores the interplay of color, light, and texture. Using a mix of acrylics, oils, and even fire, Defterios creates surfaces that appear minimal at first glance but reveal complex underlayers upon closer inspection. His work often conceals vivid color palettes beneath restrained compositions, encouraging a slower, more contemplative viewing experience. In June 2025, debut solo exhibition, Under Marble, featured a body of work that emphasized materiality and process, deeply informed by the textures and landscapes of Greece.
Untitled 2025 intensifies a sense of rupture and release within a composition that appears at once restrained and volatile. Known for his process-driven practice, Defterios typically works in cycles of adding, subtracting, and reworking layers; yet here he turns to a purely oil-based approach, using thinned paint to build splashes, veils, and accumulations of pigment. A deliberate division line, evoking a horizon, establishes what the artist describes as a visual hierarchy, separating a dark, atmospheric upper field from an earth-toned expanse below. Across this threshold, a forceful detonation of fragmented strokes and speckled bursts unfolds, with smoldering hues of rust and ember suggesting a landscape briefly illuminated from within.