Art exhibition by G. Kordis
June, 7th – Sept, 30th 2024 | 21:00-00:00
Art Gallery Apothiki | Nikiti, Sithonia

Bio

My painting does not aim to express the essence of reality, human sentiments or feelings, nor does it claim to present a subjective description of what my eyes see in the world. It isn’t a kind of expressionism or surrealism, although it has much in common with these modernist stylistic movements. My painting cannot be categorized within the framework of modern Western art because it is grounded in a different cultural framework, that of Greek-Byzantine art, where painting and its function are conceived of in an entirely different way.

Painting concerns the surface (epiphaneia) of objects. The epiphaneia, however, is not simply a surface, nor is it a vacuum or an empty space. Rather, in Byzantine art the epiphaneia is the manifestation of the hypostasis of the depicted object, which is at once both revealed and hidden. Indeed, its existence is revealed while its essence remains hidden.

The aim of my painting is to create an embrace between the depicted object and the viewer. Each artwork is created in direct reference to the viewer. In this way, the beholder becomes part of the artwork and the artwork part of the beholder.

My work does not endeavour to describe feelings or impressions, but rather describes the relationship between the depicted object and the viewer, creating an intimate bond between subject and object. In this relationship there are no defined roles, and the distinction between subject and object collapses. Relationship is all that remains: a state of love, of synousia (of being together), where all boundaries are lost and life becomes a state of eternal communion.

The aim of my art is realized through the traditional principles and ideals of Byzantine painting, and specifically through the Byzantine principle of rhythm. Everything in a picture is energy: line, colour, movement, and so on. In Byzantine art, these energies are reconciled and exist in a ‘perfect’ way, that is, in a state of dynamic balance. Through rhythm, images become manifestations of a state of love and create a peaceful space-time here on Earth. Rhythm transforms everything into a new reality and manifests a desire for a new world where conflict and hatred are replaced with love and peace.

This ‘consoling realism’, the term which best characterizes my style of painting, focuses on expressing the needs of contemporary people who are tortured by a lack of communion and relationship, by an abyss of darkness. I work and create to present a consoling picture of communion and love, so greatly needed in today’s world.

-George Kordis, 2016

Opening hours: 21.00-00.00 | Free entrance

More information: https://kordis.gr/bio/