In the atmospheric and truly charming area of Lindian Village in Rhodes, on the exceptionally beautiful Lardos beach, the exhibition “The Eternal Greek Light” has found the perfect place to act as its host. The exhibition features nine highly respected Greek artists. The architectural design of the hotel is also inspiring as the exhibition areas and the areas which separate them do not merely leave the flow of light unbroken, but rather they encourage and make full use of the flow of light between the hotel’s outdoor, semi-outdoor and indoor spaces. This acts to eliminate the small separations between the areas and, first and foremost, is in perfect harmony with the ideas behind the current exhibition.
Moreover, the arrangement of the spaces in relation to the environment, and in particular the magnificent beach, the wonderful garden with its tropical vegetation, the reflections of the natural environment and the hotel architecture in the water features [private beach, uniquely designed swimming pools, etc], all encourage imaginative refractions of light and add an idyllic atmosphere and charm. An attribute that, within twenty four hours, feels almost like a vision with an alternative intensity and texture. An attribute which, finally, is in harmony with the theme of the current exhibition and gives hotel patrons, and in particular travelers from other countries, the opportunity to get to know the work of famous Greek painters and to admire the way in which each individual artist has interpreted the visual decryption and poetic recreation/reconstruction of the Greek light.
All 9 artists are dedicated, each in accordance with his personality and the dynamics of his talent, to fully understanding and representing the charismatic light of Greece and to enabling visitors to experience our homeland’s light with its unique textures and transformations with both their gaze and with their spirit. A light which cannot be found in any other place on earth. A light that acquires a special clarity and vibrality on the coast of the Dodecanese islands. A clarity that allows and encourages both our vision and our psyche to make connections which are unlimited in range and in balance.
A light which shimmers with joy in the eternal rhythm dictated by the richness of Greek nature. A light which is diffused on earth and sky, on the water and on the land, and each time with a different density/clarity depending on the weather conditions, the seasons, and the time of day. A light that does not only give birth to reflections and visions, but also to forms, combinations, and even glimpses of images and organised compositions.
The inexhaustible charm of this light, the light of our homeland, with all its eccentricities from the unique atmosphere in the area, have been captured and expressed with great proficiency by the nine artists.
“They make use of” the light in their works in the sense of recreating it, as they do not merely use it decoratively, but regenerate it. Each artist works from his own perspective and with his own chosen, specialised theme: Seas and beaches. Skies which, in an indescribable union with the water, bring to life a uniquely textured fiction, in the form of a fleeting vision.
Wonderfully green slopes created, or better brought to life, by an endless variety of shades of green. Presented in “interior” sunbeams with forms and objects that float in the light. Primary, diachronic forms projected into an “unexplored” space exclusively created for them.
All nine participating artists are particularly in tune with the visual expression and deconstruction of the special properties displayed by the light of Greece. The participating artists are: Chryssa Verghi, Poly Kanistra, Dimitris Koukos, Michalis Madenis, Kaiti Mavrommati, Christos Palantzas, Nikos-Giorgos Papoutsidis, Eleni Pavlopoulou, Vangelis Rinas. The nine artists are worthy representatives of two generations of Greek artists and each individual presents his own personal interpretation of the texture of the Greek light, drawn from on his own psychological influences. An interpretation based on the dynamics of his or her own particular talent.
All nine artists have thrown off the “shackles” of art “schools” and movements, and precisely because of this, they are particularly successful in representing the light as they experience it and feel it. It is no coincidence that Rodin said that Greek artists create – as much as is artistically possible – in direct cooperation with the light. The uniquely clear and wide-spectrum light of Greece which is written deep in the DNA of Greek artists means that from birth they react against every group effort to deconstruct it and every “scientific” approach to the light taken with the help of physics, chemistry and mathematics For precisely this reason, unlike their northern colleagues who did not know, and therefore did not feel the magic of, the Greek light, gifted Greek artists have never had to formally declare themselves to be expressionists etc.
The light of Greece is metaphysical in texture and life and, especially in the Dodecanese islands, it is characterised by a special aura, clarity and luster.
It is exactly this light which shines, with its unique luster and sheen, on Chryssa Verghi’s wonderful seas and connects directly with supreme energy.
It is this light which is reconstructed by the earthly, yet lusciously coloured, landscapes by Poly Kanistra.
It is this light which appears in an idiomatic atmosphere exactly where the sea meets the sky in Dimitris Koukos’ landscapes.
It is this light which was decrypted – with an endless and unique vigor – throughout Michalis Madenis’ entire artistic journey, giving it a metaphysical breath of life. A journey that could be described as an Ode to Light.
A light which is imbued with a certain mystery in Kaiti Mavrommati’s enigmatic interiors.
A magical light in the works of Christos Palantzas who charmingly negates every conventional separation between interior and exterior spaces, endowing the entire composition with a transcendent “aura”.
A light which is constantly given renewed luster and charm in the idiosyncratic paintings of Nikos Giorgos Papoutsidis where cacti, butterflies and transcendent codes are orchestrated in an emblematic natural world.
A light that spins metaphysical visions in the golden meadows and the somewhat unearthly glow which infuses Eleni Pavlopoulou’s works.
An eternal light: timeless, a light that is, first and foremost, metaphysical in Vangelis Rinas’ works. A light which does not only recreate uniquely inspired visions but also, with infinite energy, creates messages in transcendental orbits.
The multi-layered current exhibition, an Ode to the light of Greece, which features inspired works by nine important artists – has, in the Lindian Village, found the perfect place to act as its host. The ideals of both the architecture and the surrounding spaces make particularly good use of the clarity and glow of the Greek light as it is gifted with the special characteristics of the Dodecanese “atmosphere”.
Dora Iliopoulos-Rogan
Dr. Art historian, art critic
Officier des Arts et Lettres
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the nine artists for participating in the exhibition and for the trust they have placed in me, to the Svyriadis family for their impeccable hospitality and to Ms. Kelly Athanasiadou for all her coordination work and for her highly creative cooperation.
