Featuring works by American artists Todd Lowery, Jim Kraus and Prudence Horne
November 11 - December 28th
CHROMATIC STATES documents and reveals the unique experiences of three artists and their creations, which were produced in Greece over the past six months.
The exhibition explores states of being as a conceptual underpinning for creativity-something distinctly separate from codified political states or the status of national health as they are defined by parameters of red, blue, orange, or green. The artists draw upon their personal memory, their desire to strike out on a different path and vibrate with both classical and contemporary Greek society. Their work is symbolic given the circumstances, demonstrating how individuals connect with material culture and the metaphysical alike through a process of personal transformation and reinvention.
CHROMATIC STATES celebrates sustained and ongoing collaboration and exchanges between Phoenix Athens and artists from the US, Greece and internationally.
Painter and professor at Drury University, Todd Lowery has produced a new series of paintings which examine notions of identity and place through revised colormetrics, geometric perspectives and color composition.
His new work is informed by a heightened awareness of chaos and order, as well as his enduring a love and admiration for both classical and contemporary Greek culture.
Lowery’s practice references Guy de Bord’s notion of the “dérive,” and his own approach to combating the malaise and boredom of society of the spectacle, in this case through the act of painting.
His new work is informed by a heightened awareness of chaos and order, as well as his enduring a love and admiration for both classical and contemporary Greek culture.
For more about Todd Lowery, please refer to: http://toddlowery.com/
For the painter and sculptor, Jim Kraus the hidden gems of Greece served as inspiration for a new series of paintings and sculpture. From the lush beauty of the Ionian region to the more discrete charm to be found in n the neighbourhood of Exarchia a new body of paintings emerged from his residency at the Villa Exarchia.
The resilience and resourcefulness of Exarchia has inspired a "revival" series of sculptures that Kraus made from wood and other found objects. These works explore the notion of antiquity and preservation while examining with the great sensitivity, more nuanced concepts of beauty and lasting value.
The small, brightly colored works of Prudence Horne reflect an interwoven sense of discovery and contemplation.
The juxtaposition of landscapes and motifs drawn from classical Greek art suggest a narrative that is critical of human naiveté.
The works were created during her stay at the Villa Exarchia Residency, where she has re-explored Athens for for the first time since her college years.