Maria and her Marine Routes

AN exhibition by Maria Doriti will be opened Ay Kypiraki Gonia, by the President Tassos Papdopoulos on Wednesday, October 3, at 8pm.

It will continue until October 17.

Marine Routes consists of works inspired by what surrounds us; the sea and the sandy beaches of Cyprus.

Adamantios Diamantis wrote the following about her work:

"Maria Doriti has her own personality. She does not belong to schools of art. Her creations are authentic, resulting from her inexorable need to express herself.

"I cannot predict her next move or where she will end.

"I believe that she will maintain her independent personal approach to express the concerns that prey on her mind."

And Chrysanthos A Christou reports: "There is no doubt for every careful observer that in the artistic creation of Maria Doroiti we have a course from the outside to the inside and from the specific to the typical.

"With the emphasis she sometimes gives to the organic subjects and sometimes in the strict geometrical elements, she achieves formulations that are imposed with the synthetic safety and their expressive wealth.

"In her most important and completed work Doriti gives us plastic formulations, that are distinguished for the formal plenitude and the technical sufficiency, the personal combination of constructional types and free subjects, the authentic clarity and the expressive force.

"Efforts in which an untutored form-shapes imagination is imposed, that does not fear the searches in various regions and where it achieves to reach in personal solutions."

Here is an extract from the speech by H Christofidis from the opening of Dorit’s first individual exhibition in May, 1975.

"The intellectual continuity that is certified each time an artistic work takes place, maintains the natural duration.

"Our identity, which kept us in the time because we kept it, is confirmed through the creative works, which means our passage from the history.

"Maria Doriti participates positively and substantially in this process of self-confirmation and internal self-sufficiency that begins from gifted person and ends to a team and shapes the collective person.

"From the earth and the water of Cyprus, from the fire that pokes the place and with the breath that natural donation and exercise and ministration in the art have strengthened, are marked those which are created by her fertile hands.

"In her hands, her materials take forms so unspecified as needed, in order to be connected with the vague memories and confused dreams and so much eloquent speaking as needed to be contracted wit ease with our inapprehensible roots and our tragic destinies."

Kikos Lanitis at Gloria’s Gallery

THIS exhibition opened only two days go but will continue until the 16th of the month, so more next week.

One of our major artists, Kikos Lanitis had his work recently shown at the Venice Biennalle through the Arterra Museum of Austria.

He is showing several impressive installations at Glorias. Expect strong, impressive work.

A Gold for Rhea

THE American Biographical Institute of the USA has bestowed its gold medal on Cyprus artist Rhea Bailey.

The ABI say that her work was one of the highlights of the week in the International Gallery of Exhibition. She also served as a distinguished symposium lecturer with her presentation "Cyprus Art 11,000 years – an artist’s view, an attempt to free the spirit of the land through human artistic expression"

The medal is presented to a select number of individuals annually from across the globe that exhibit extraordinary achievement and determination based on the ideals of entrepreneurship and success.

Rhea received the award for her outstanding contributions to Art at a private ceremony during the Forum week at the Hotel Palomar, Washington DC..

Stephos Metaxas at Apocalypse

EVERYONE was there.

Loukis Papaphilippou opened the show, Manos Stephanides was present and so was Stass Paraskos.

In fact, it was like old times.

Stephos Metaxas, after a break of nearly a decade, has returned with total triumph.

Brilliant painting. Forget Kandinsky. We have Metaxas.

Until September 29 to see top standard Cypriot art.

The Last Riot

THE Pharos Centre for Contemporary Art has brilliant computer-generated images of youngsters battling away.

God, it’ll be toddler’s next!

The subjects are terrifying while, the short (very) video takes us into a land in which, if there were a "yellow brick road," Dorothy (Judy Garland) would be driving a tank running over the scarecrow with absolute glee.

Horribly brilliant.

To The Sea to The Sea

KATIE Sabry and James Gibbs are at Aspela Gallery, Larnaca.

Forget the pool and consider those who love the sea

Katie and James have paintings of the sea and are also exhibiting for Open Studios.

Katie captures the colour and shapes of the sea at different times of the year and her work has recently become more expressionistic .

James is a fish and landscape painter who paints the natural environment specializing in marine life and coral scenes to capture on canvas precious biodiversity. Until October 4.

Pantheon Cultural Association

IT’S UrbanSoul Festival version 2 on Saturday, September 29 and, if it’s as good as the last one, don’t miss it.

It’s in the moat by Eleftheria Square and is curated by the artists themselves. On all day.

Participators for the visuals are: Elizabeth Doering, Eliza Pieri, Georgia Georgiou, Kika Kazamia, Maria Stavrides & Maria Yiannoura, Marianna Constanti, Mariza Bargilly, Nicoletta Papamichael, Pear Project (Anna Fotiadou & Christos Polydorou)

Tatiana Ferahian, Vasso & Charalambous Sergiou, Washing Up Ladies (Lia Lapithi & Marianna Kafaridou).

I found out about this accidentally on a visit to a clinic.

There, I saw the most amazing piece

The guidelines proposed by the Pantheon Urban Soul-organising committee were to bring the multi-cultural population of Cyprus closer to contemporary art, in the central park of the old city.

The Piece by Vaso & Charalambous Sergiou is titled in vitro: in vivo which is the name allocated to an American group of artists that was put together in the early 80’s.

There will be handouts by the Sergiou’s during the exhibition.

These are intriguing and intellectual. See the Piece for yourself.

The materials used are graffiti, mirrors, skin, fibre glass, cloth, tree. It hits DEEP, VERY DEEP.

New Exhibitions

TEHNIS Dromena Gallery have organised an exhibition which opens on Tuesday, October 2, continuing until October 16.

Entitled "Create and Contribute to the fight against Parkinson’s Disease" it will be opened by Kostas Kadis, Minister of Health and Marios Tannousis, President of the Cyprus Pakinson’s Disease Association.

There’s music, films, book sales and food too at other times.

Please telephone 22496398

Here are the artists participating:

Adi Attashi, Rhea Bailey, Monica Demetriades, Nitsa Hadjigeorgiou, andreas Karayan, Maria Kazazi, Maria Koudouna, Chrysi Koumna, Pieris lambrou, Erackis Mavrommatis, Nicolas Panayi, Andreas Paraskeva, Constantinos Smyrnios, Panos Stafanides, Hambis Tsangaris, Evgenia Vasiloudi, Horst Weierstall.

Alice & the Rainbow at Argo Gallery

THE Portuguese Ambassador in Cyprus, Antonio Jacob de Carvalho, will open an exhibition of drawing, painting and installation tonight at 8 pm. Until October 13.