Manolis Charos
On Saturday October 7, FOUGARO will be hosting the opening of a major one-man show of painting by Manolis Charos. The exhibition will include a number of new works from 2011–2017 and will remain on show until Sunday 3 December.
Every work in this exhibition, large or small, is a self-contained universe. Some, bright and vibrant, can open the recipient's eyes to an entire, jubilant world high on the very fact of its existence, Others, more mysterious and evocative, have the power to transfix the viewer's gaze by whispering to them in a universal language of emotion, association and memory.
But all these worlds are linked by the riotous colour which reigns in them triumphant. Clearly well-aware of the power of the more demanding and the painterly, Manolis Charos harnesses this element with unforced mastery to a harmony of opposing tensions, the Heracleitean 'strung bow'. He uses colour liberally, but wisely, economically, essentially, elevating its qualities—the reconciling translucence and certain clarity, the laconic impermeability and incendiary contrasts—into self-evident values.
Finally, this is painting governed by a characteristically eloquent code of symbols which, before our eyes, leave the hand of their creator to take us by the hand. The ship, the tree, the flower, the road, the sea, the house and the man awaken early in the artist's personal Arcadia to voyage into our personal and collective subconscious, playfully underscoring the importance of a familiar refuge for our dreams and our desire.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, prints and multiples by Manolis Charos, as well as workshops and educational programs.
Manolis Charos
Manolis Charos was born on Kythera in 1960. He studied in Paris at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and continued with postgraduate studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. He has been awarded the Prix des Fondations in France and the Academy of Athens Award.
He was invited as an artist at Princeton University in the USA, where he embarked on a study of Aesop’s Myths—the subject of a major exhibition at the Benaki Museum. Seen as a major exponent of his generation, he has a track record of numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad (France, Britain, Italy, Germany, USA, etc.) and his works can be found in public and private collections within and beyond Greece.
