ART CITIES: Athens Seeking Values That Are Sensitive and Unexpected
In the exhibition “Seeking Values That Are Sensitive And Unexpected” Christos Christofis shows works from his Collection by two professors in Schools of Fine Arts. Vangelis Gokas is Professor at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Ioannina and Vasilis Vasilakakis is Associate Professor at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Thessaloniki.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Christos Christofis Archive
The exhibition “Seeking Values That Are Sensitive And Unexpected” is organized by dreamideamachine resident- Athens. The two artists that are also close friends, having common starting points, continue their dialogue on painting. Its relationship with the present, memory and history, its interaction with other media such as photography, literature and cinema. The writer-photographer Fotis Thalassinos also participates in their exhibition. He accompanies the works of Gokas and Vasilakakis with his texts, making them diptychs of image and speech. Fotis Thalassinos says: “My personal perspective is about unexpected, extraordinary and novel images. I familiarize people with what has escaped their attention before, with what everyone passes by, leaving sinfully unseen the most refined and pristine depicted emotions”. Vangelis Gokas appropriates images from photographs which he reconstructs with painting means. These real-ideal spaces are characterized by an aura of vague mystery and allusive cover-up, while they are revealed to the viewer as unfamiliar, almost “romantic landscapes”, where the observer himself is repositioned in the space they create. Even when dealing with simple objects, Gokas manages to replace the everyday gaze with a “painterly” mediation, inviting the viewer to reconstruct the image himself in relation to subjective experiential references. Vasilis Vasilakakis knows very well how to create a scenery with images that function mnemonically. He is choosing colors that are far from corresponding to the descriptiveness of an object. These small paintings play with the proximity of unevenness through a media economy based on simplicity and humility. With this contemplation, the space and form of the images lose their coherence leading us to a relationship of deepening and mystical union. The artist confronts us with questions such as enigmatic but familiar images, introducing us to a heterogeneity of forms that are in constant shift. From the representational game stems the spiritual character of the works, creating an ambiguous space where detail is generalized in order to find the metaphysical essence. The copy carries a sensibility while at the same time its character is evolving with a mystical meaning without limitations.
Photo: Vasilis Vasilakakis, Green Soap, 2020, Oil on paper, 21.5 x 20 cm, Christofis Collection, © Vasilis Vasilakakis, Courtesy the artist and Christos Christofis Collection
Info: Curator: Christos Christofis, Texts: Fotis Thalassinos, Organizer: dreamideamachine non-profit civil partnership, dreamideamachine resident- Athens, 2nd floor, 55-59 Kolonou str., Metaxourgio, Athens Greece, Duration: 16/2-3/3/2024, Days & Hours: Tue 18:00-21:00, Wed-Fri 12:00-14:00 & 17:00-20:00, Sat-Sun 12:00-15:00, www.dreamideamachine.com/
