Art Review by Spyros G. Brikos
Doctor, writer, PhD candidate at the School of Fine Arts, University of Ioannina (Department of Visual Arts & Art Sciences)
The coral reefs of Pela Kalogirou
In traditional Chinese cosmology, water is directly linked to the philosophical concept of Yin, symbolising flow, silence, wisdom, adaptability – as the ability to overcome obstacles without violence – and feminine energy. Gaia (Earth) is also known as the blue planet, as more than 70 per cent of its surface is covered by water. It is the oceans that give our planet its characteristic colour when viewed from space. Pela Kalogirou, the creator of this August exhibition of artistic ceramics, which focuses on water, the sea and ‘tropical forests’ [the coral reefs], links the ancient mythology of different peoples with the contemporary call for the conservation [preservation] of the natural environment and ecosystems. Coral reefs, some of which stretch for thousands of kilometres, are formed by billions of microorganisms and act as natural reservoirs of biodiversity. It is the coral reefs that, together with the water, send out the bright signal of life on our planet into space. The Great Barrier Reef, situated in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland in north-eastern Australia, is visible from space as a unique colourful formation. It has also played an important role in the culture and traditions of Australia’s Indigenous peoples for centuries.
Once again, Pela Kalogirou surprises us with her interpretations and themes in artistic ceramics. In recent years, her visual artworks have been characterised by diversity, intense experimentation with form and colour, and a sense of stability and self-assurance in the rendering of the final aesthetic result. The poetic titles of her works are fusions of scientific terminology and the corresponding fields of knowledge with modern aesthetic theories, so that the works retain their autonomy within the range of their thematic variations, radiating harmony and drawing [captivating] the viewer within the visual setting itself.
I am quoting some of the titles of the works from the catalogue so that we may once again immerse ourselves in the poetic atmosphere of the exhibition: Shallow-water corals, Shells, Resting by the sea, Horizon, Posidonia, Brain Coral of the Ionian Sea, Trachyphyllia, Marine Fossil, Sea Butterfly, Living in Freedom, Open-Sea Fish. I am convinced – having observed a large number of Pela Kalogirou’s older and more recent works – that her artistic biomorphisms are not merely a visual choice or an artistic perspective upon which she modifies and develops her work. Her biomorphic ceramics are shaped by instinct, and the artist’s idiom is deeper, more deeply rooted, and self-healing. Moreover, the life-giving sea, which the ceramicist celebrates as a female deity, is therapeutic, as is water [one of the elements of the ‘birth’ cycle of creation and the regulatory cycle ‘balance’ of the five elements] in Traditional Chinese Medicine is associated with the organs/meridians of the Kidneys and Bladder.
The anatomical and energetic interplay within artistic ceramic creation evokes in the viewer [c]-motion and, at the same time, a sense of tranquillity through their spiritual engagement and immersion in these expressionist representations of the natural environment and marine creatures.
Her series of works entitled ‘Rest by the Sea’ consists of imaginative variations on an experiential feeling of the artist’s, which she ‘channels’, as it were, into the works, transporting the viewer/reader of the exhibition to the natural balance that governs the ‘eternal’ ecosystems within which the phenomenon of life on the planet is sustained, reproduced and evolved. These eternal fields of colour [life systems spanning millions of years, if we wish to strip away the metaphysical connotation of the ‘eternal’] are thematic series of works in the painting and sculpture of abstract American Expressionism, whose leading exponent is the eminent Greek-American painter Theodoros Stamos, who traces his origins to our twin/neighbouring island of Lefkada. Pela is in constant dialogue with Theodoros Stamos, particularly with regard to his early bio-hydromorphic works, which established his international reputation. Pela, moreover, has an in-depth understanding of avant-garde art movements, which she studies systematically, drawing inspiration from their inexhaustible wellspring.
The sea in all the dialects of the world [sea, bahr, zee, samut, mare, darya…] with its immense and constant Yin energy, and the coral reefs—those fantastical tropical forests within it—nourish the spiritual quests of the potter Pela Kalogirou, guiding her into the ritual of re-enactments and simulations in her works in this new thematic exhibition of artistic ceramics. The arrangement, as well as the lighting of the ceramics at the elegant AMORELI [7 Sampoutzaki Street, Preveza], owned by our dear friends Stathis and Marina, creates a sense of perfect harmony with the well-preserved walls and the distinctive shades of her designs. AMORELI, with its aesthetic imprint on the city, serves as an exemplary venue for artistic gatherings. Pela Kalogirou’s exhibition of artistic ceramics will be extended for another week, prolonging the ‘stone-filled August’ of artistic ceramics in Preveza.
All the narrow alleyways, all the little stone steps will lead you there. To the sea.
Ο πέτρινος Αύγουστος της καλλιτεχνικής κεραμικής – Γράφει ο Σπύρος Μπρίκος
