08-11-2009: “Athens Mayor launches Yiannis Nikou exhibition at Technopolis”

Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis last night
launched a painting exhibition by acclaimed artist Yiannis Nikou, entitled "The
Magical Realism of Yiannis Nikou", at the City of Athens Technopolis.




The artist himself Yiannis Nikou,
Technopolis chairman Fotis
Ignatiou, Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, LAOS
MP Adonis Georgiadis and many others attended the exhibition launch.




In his address, Nikitas Kaklamanis
spoke warmly of the artist's work:




"I am
particularly pleased because Athens,
a city that bears great historical weight, is finally hosting the work of a
painter it knows and respects. Because if one could say that our collective
historical memory can fit on one canvas, then it would surely be painted with
the brush of Yiannis Nikou.




Through his
exhibition, which we are inaugurating today, Yiannis Nikou takes us on a tour of
his world. A world full of Greece.
A world full of sensations and emotions. Fear, wonder, passion, mystery but
also myth, charm, lust and glamour find their way in a unique, harmonious
fashion into the Art of Yiannis Nikou. An image that is both eloquent and
comprehensible. However, the message behind the image is even more resonant and
charming.




Nikou's figures may be elicited from
the classical Hellenic tradition but they take on a new timelessness. His work
is both grand and bright like our past, strong but also sensitive like our
present, and uncertain and mysterious like our future.




Beyond the fact that the work of
each artist brings us into the world of Art, the work of Yiannis Nikou familiarises
the viewer with the art of painting in a ceremonial fashion, while the artist
serves as a pioneer of Greece's
past while presenting us with our hopes for the future in the present."




For his part, Technopolis chairman Fotis Ignatiou noted:




"Yiannis Nikou is a multi-dimensional,
creative personality and his work is based on and reflects
wide-ranging art studies, in painting (Athens Higher School of Fine Arts),
directing and acting (Athens School of Theatre and Cinema), classical music
(classical guitar), mosaics and photography.




He
has held exhibitions in many cities abroad, where he resided for many years (Germany and Italy), and received numerous
awards and distinctions. His works grace museums and private collections".




Painter Yiannis Nikou made the
following statement:




"My friends, I know that this is the
first time most of you have seen my work. They offer a new perspective, a new
script.




I believe that they honestly express
what they want to say. They mostly concern Greece. I must say that we all love our country. And each one of us must
show it in our own way.




I would like to say that one can
express many things through painting, be it that which concerns them or that
which concerns those around them. It is a communicant of thoughts, in a way".




The
exhibition, "The Magical Realism of Yiannis Nikou", features dense
oil paintings of epic dimensions and works created in the past four years,
which depict key moments in world history.




The
exhibition includes works from all thematic units of this significant exponent
of the Magical Realism genre within Greece, which are distinguished by their
epic and symbolic character, namely: "Romantic and Middle Ages
Cycle", "The world of Angels", "Transformations", "Allegoric-Pagan Cycle",
"Mythological Cycle" and "Archaics", as well as pencil drawings.




"The Magical Realism of Yiannis Nikou" will be hosted in Technopolis'
Nikos Gatsos Hall, under the aegis of the City of Hall, until November 24, 2009 (Opening hours 11:00-21:00, free admission).