A world of magic

An illustrated “world of magic” – according to the organisers – unfolds in Sophia Kalogeropoulou’s upcoming exhibition in Nicosia this November. Hosted by Alpha C.K. Art Gallery, the Greek artist will be displaying her latest body of work between November 6 and 16.

Her works are inspired by Greek traditions and Byzantium, by the belle epoque and fairy tales, by Nature and music – and especially by opera, as she was once a soloist at the Lyric Theatre. “Sophia is an energetic and imaginative contemporary creator,” says the gallery, “who attracts constant interest and pleasantly surprises viewers of all ages. Her intense, colourful and lyrical compositions convey stories that come to life, showcasing heroes and incidents from mythology and history, memory and longing, surreal reality and dreams.”

Employing a purposely naïve style, the painter allows spectators to travel on magical carpets (as the gallery enchantingly describes it), suspended in a world of colour. Influenced by the great painter Theophilos, her work captures different episodes of Greek history and scenes imprinted in the nation’s collective memory, co-existing in a fairytale landscape, a sphere between dream and reality.

Different times and places are unexpectedly connected through a mood both exotic and nostalgic, using enigmatic humour and the painter’s poetically shaped figures. Kalogeropoulou weaves a fairytale place where, among the seas and mountains, the churches and streets, the past meets the present and East is gently made to rhyme with West.

 

Sophia Kalogeropoulou

Solo art exhibition by Greek artist. November 6-16. Alpha C.K. Art Gallery, Nicosia. Opening night 7pm. Tuesday-Friday: 10am-1pm and 4pm-6.30pm. Saturday: 10am-1pm. Tel: 22-751325

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